Endeavor
by Purloined Letter
Summary: [AU-Lumos 'Verse] In a world in which Pokémon are relatively rare, two best friends named Ash and Gary find themselves suddenly owning two Pokémon and a single Trainer's License. Deciding that Ash will do the battling while Gary will try to help with strategy, they head out. But dark shadows are watching the outsiders that may shake the foundations of the League...
1. One Night In Pallet Town

Ash Ketchum noticed that there were only a few lights left burning in the various windows of Pallet Town as he stepped outside of his home and carefully closed the door, the tiny hamlet utterly quiet and serene in its usual evening sleep. He then noticed his best friend Gary Oak after his eyes adjusted to the dim, honey colored illumination offered by the town's scattered porch lights and the half moon. The other boy was lying face up on the front lawn of his own house a few steps away, apparently stargazing and lost in thought. Ash wandered over to his friend and stretched out a couple feet from Gary, mimicking his friend's pose. "Welp, just checked- the first round of the Kanto regionals starts at noon tomorrow." Ash's back quickly got damp and cold from the dew on Gary's front lawn. "Wonder who'll win it all this year?"

Gary shrugged and shook his head while looking up at the twinkling stars in the night sky above them. "Eh, I can tell ya right now. It won't be the best trainer, and may _never_ be. It'll be whoever pays the most money to everyone else under the table, just like always." He let out a derisive snort, his nose then filling back up with the scent of cut grass and moist earth as he inhaled. "Dunno why they even bother with the Championship Series. They may as well just have the contestants open their wallets, count the money in 'em and declare the person with the most the winner instead of Pokémon battling." Gary paused for a moment, recalling something he and Ash had witnessed in last year's tournament. "You remember the team from the Orange Islands last year? The four that got disqualified due to having an improperly registered Pokémon after gettin' to the group semifinals?"

"Yeah, the ones from Moro Island? It was a Lapras that they got in trouble for if I remember right." Ash cocked an eyebrow and glanced over at his friend before looking back up into the night. "Something about the breeder chip not matching its registration papers, I think?" He pulled himself up a bit, perching on his elbows and then turning his head to Gary.

"Yep. Chip showed it hatching in Cerulean City, registration papers said it hatched in Slateport City." Gary's eyes narrowed, the stars partially blotted out. He knew better than most people how the Pokémon world worked thanks to his grandfather's connections to it, tenuous as they were. He plucked a blade of grass and rolled it in between his index finger and thumb absentmindedly as he continued. "Somebody else in that tournament paid good money for the registration paper to suddenly not match the chip, guaranteed. Quick and easy way to eliminate someone you're sweating about, and nothing can ever be proven."

Ash sat up fully, a thought written on his face. "But wouldn't they double check the registration and make sure that the breeder put the right information on the chip?" Every Pokémon had a tiny, scannable electronic chip implanted just under the skin (or lacquered onto them, depending on the species,) carefully inserted under anesthesia as part of their first health exam after hatching. By regulation, the chip had to contain the breeder's name, city, and region along with the date and location where the Pokémon had hatched. This information was then used by its owner to register the Pokémon with the Pokémon League to enable it to participate in League events, including tournaments and the Gym Challenge for each region. Any discrepancy between the information on the chip and the information provided by the owner on the Pokémon's registration usually spelled huge trouble for said owner.

"Well, they're _supposed_ to, yeah. They're supposed to follow up with the breeder to re-verify the information on the chip, but the League usually doesn't try too hard, especially when judges are paid to look the other way most of the time." Gary sat up and looked around at the quiet, still night. "I know Gramps wouldn't lie to me, but it's hard to imagine that there were ever wild Pokémon. Imagine walkin' along and suddenly BAM! There's a wild Pokémon blocking your way."

Ash nodded and laughed lightly. "Or you could have gotten your head smacked by a flying one while you were walking along and minding your own business!" He then suddenly stopped laughing and frowned in concentration, cupping his left hand around his ear before standing up and turning left. "Did you hear that?"

"No. What is it?" Gary quirked an eyebrow as he got up and looked in the same direction Ash was, unable to hear anything or see anything beyond a few dimly illuminated lawns, houses and shrubs.

"It can't be what I think it is, but it sure sounded like..." Ash let the sentence drift off before motioning for Gary to follow him before slowly tiptoeing down towards the direction of the noise. As they walked a few more steps, Gary wondered what Ash had picked up on, realizing Ash had probably heard it first due to being closer to the noise. He then heard a few soft rustles issue from the large bush a few feet in front of him, the bush slightly quivering and dancing in time with the sound, before next hearing something completely unexpected.

"Vuiiiiiiii!"

"Chuuuu!"

It seemed that a pair of Pokémon had hidden themselves under the bush, an Eevee and Pikachu to be precise if Gary recalled the cries correctly. There was a pained, distressed inflection to the soft cries that definitely did not bode well. Not wanting to scare the pair off, Gary tapped Ash on the shoulder, whispering very softly. "They sound hurt, so we need to be careful. And we probably need a flashlight." His mind was still processing the fact that there appeared to be a pair of loose, unattended Pokémon not even a few feet from them. Probably got separated from their owner or wandered away from a breeding farm. Well, hopefully we can catch them and get them scanned to return them.

"Got a flashlight," whispered Ash, Gary jumping slightly before realizing that he hadn't even noticed Ash leaving or coming back. "Might spook 'em if I shine it under there, though."

"I don't know if they'll be in any condition to run. They both sound in pretty bad shape, and we shouldn't stress them out any more than they probably already are." Gary started mulling over different options in his mind.

"Hey, I know what might work!" Ash whispered happily after a few moments. "Do you think your grandpa might have some food left from when he took care of his friend's Arcanine?"

"Actually, he might. I'll go check, keep an eye on 'em in case they move." Gary walked down to his grandfather's house at a brisk trot, letting himself in with the spare key under the doormat. He closed the door behind him, tiptoed into the small tan and white kitchen, turned on the light and began rooting around in the drawers and cupboards as quietly as he could. The faint, spicy smell of last night's curry hung in the air as Gary searched through pots, pans, various cooking tools and cooking ingredients. He finally found a box of Pokéchow half hidden behind a bag of rice. "There it is," he muttered under his breath before grabbing it, making sure to turn off the light and exiting the house triumphantly, closing the door and locking it behind him.

"Did you find it? They haven't moved." Ash was still standing vigil a few feet from the bush after Gary jogged back to his friend.

"Yeah. I'm gonna pour some food on the ground and see if they're interested." Gary opened the box and poured a small mound of dark brown kibble a step closer than he and Ash were to the bush, hoping that the smell of the food would lure the pair out. Almost as soon as he backed up after pouring it, a pair of muzzles could be seen poking out slightly from under the bush, the sound of eager sniffing soon carrying on the still, somewhat chilly night air.

"Pikaaaaa?" A Pikachu slowly emerged first, its nose and ears twitching as it slowly crept toward the food on all fours, favoring its back left paw and wincing a little with every step. It was also dirty, covered all over in light scratches that looked to be from small claws or talons and a rib or two was almost visible under its fur. It seemed to not even notice the boys' presence, its focus completely on the meal before it. Its dull eyes suddenly brightened as it finished approaching the food and gave it a final sniff, a wide smile flashing across its face. It then turned its head towards the bush and cried "Pipipikachuchuupikaaaaaaaa!", its tone clearly indicating delight.

"Eev, eevuiiii?" came the curious-sounding reply. An Eevee in similar condition to the Pikachu emerged from under the bush, clearly favoring its right front paw as it went to join the Pikachu. As soon as the Eevee managed to limp to the pile of food, both dug in with an amount of gusto that seemed to indicate why their ribs had almost been showing- clearly, neither had eaten in a while. They were almost gulping the pieces of food down whole, neither seeming to pay any attention to the pair of humans that were standing not more than four feet away.

"Jeez, they look pretty bad," Ash softly commented with a frown. "Looks like someone dumped 'em right after a battle without taking them to a Pokémon Center." Ash's fists clenched in anger at the thought of someone not only dumping a Pokémon like it was a piece of garbage, but also leaving it to die.

"Yeah, and look at how fast they're eating. They must've been totally starved." After his hushed reply, Gary realized that they had to get the pair to a Pokémon Center to heal their injuries, and fast. "We better get 'em to a Center. The closest one's up in Viridian, isn't it?"

"I'm pretty sure." Ash nodded as he studied the pair of Pokémon. "But how do we get there? Or better yet, corral these guys to take them there?" Even with how quiet they were trying to be, Ash noticed the pair's ears twitching softly in their direction every time he or Gary whispered. After the pile of food had been polished off, two pairs of wary eyes met Ash and Gary's.

The Eevee made the first move, slowly moving towards Gary and sniffing in the direction of the box of food he held. "Vui?" It kept approaching until it seemed to get a good enough sniff of the box before backing up with its head tilted in apparent puzzlement.

"Piiiika." The Pikachu's eyes slowly slid between the two boys, suspicion evident in its tone and eyes. Small sparks began to issue from its dirty red cheeks as it glared at each of them in turn.

"Hey, calm down!" Ash placed his hands out in front of him. "We're just trying to help."

Suddenly a large wooden box with small holes in it emerged from the shadows beyond the bush and was placed over the Pokémon with a dull thunk, trapping them both under it. The sounds of scrambling and scratching began within the box. "You _both_ could have been _seriously_ hurt. You should have woken me up to help," a familiar voice chided from the shadows. Samuel Oak stepped into view with a stern frown on his face. "It was lucky that someone rooting around in my kitchen woke me up. I assume that was you, Gary." When his grandson nodded in the affirmative, he continued. "I heard their cries and came out to investigate and catch them if needed."

"Sorry." Ash bowed his head as he realized that the older man, usually called 'Professor' Oak, was absolutely right.

"Well, at least they're caught now. They need help," explained Gary as he looked down at the box. "They don't look too good."

"I noticed that. You two kept them distracted long enough for me to sneak up on them," nodded the professor in reply as he donned a pair of rubber gloves and slowly began sliding a piece of wood under the box, sparks flying out of it as he worked. Once the box was sealed, he picked it up. "They can tucker themselves out in here while you get them up to Viridian City. It would probably be best to take your bikes." Samuel began to head back towards his house. He suddenly turned around when he was halfway there. "Let me know how things turn out."

"We will." Ash then dashed back to his house for his bike and met Gary on the dirt road through town, the other boy already on his bike.

"Grab a side and let's go." Gary pointed down at two makeshift handles on either side of the box.

"Got it." Ash grabbed the left side, Gary grabbed the right and they both very awkwardly remounted their bikes. "Should be a straight shot up as long as the weird guy that doesn't let people walk through his lawn's not there, but he should be asleep this time of night."

"Yeah, should be." Gary nodded and began pedalling, Ash quickly pulling even with him as the pair took off straight north, hoping to reach Viridian City with no problems.

* * *

" _How_ did they get so heavy on the way here?" groaned Gary as the pair arrived in front of Viridian City's Pokémon Center. The brightly lit Center cast a warm, welcoming red glow into the night that pierced through the darkness and lit up the immediate area. "It feels like they weigh a million pounds all of a sudden."

"'Cause we've carried 'em with the same arm all the way here. Wanna switch?" replied Ash with a grin as the pair slowly made their way off their bikes, swapped sides, gripped the box handles and entered the Center. The mingling smells of liniment oil, pine and antiseptic hitting them like an ocean wave as the door quietly whooshed shut behind them. The clinic seemed abandoned at the late hour, an eerie silence broken only by their soft footsteps pervading the immaculately clean space as they continued to walk forward.

A pink-haired woman in a pink and white nurse's uniform who was standing behind a large counter on the other side of the room waved at them. "Hello you two! I don't think I've seen you here before. How can I help you this evening?" She practically beamed as Ash and Gary approached and hefted the large box containing the Eevee and Pikachu up on the counter. A Chansey then wandered out from a room located back behind the counter, the Pokémon quickly studying the wooden box and giving a confused look to the woman bearing a name tag reading 'Nurse Joy' .

"Could you take a look at this Eevee and Pikachu? We found them under a bush in Pallet Town and they both looked pretty bad, so we brought 'em here as soon as we fed and caught them." Gary indicated the box.

"They also weren't in Pokéballs and we couldn't find anyone around, either," Ash added.

"How strange that they were alone, but it's good that you managed to catch them and that you brought them here." She examined the box, then carefully slid the bottom open. After she removed the top of the box, revealing two sleeping Pokémon that were obviously exhausted from travelling and clearly mistreated, Nurse Joy frowned and turned to Chansey. "Chansey, hand me my Pokénav. I've got to report this immediately."

After Chansey dug around in its pouch and handed a pink Pokénav over, Nurse Joy pulled up something on the device's touch screen and tapped a few times on it before snapping several pictures of the Eevee and Pikachu, then holding the device to her ear. She looked back up at Ash and Gary. "You're sure there was no one else around the area where you found these two?"

"No one except his grandpa, who helped us catch them." Ash indicated Gary, then shook his head.

Nurse Joy nodded before a faint murmuring could be heard issuing from the Pokénav nestled by her ear. "This is Viridian City's Pokémon Center calling." She smiled. "Good, thanks for asking, but I have to be the bearer of some bad news. Could you please transfer me to the on-call officer working Cruelty and Abandonment?" she continued when the mumbling stopped. Nurse Joy sighed and put the Pokénav down on her desk and pressed another button, calm, soothing instrumental music issuing forth from it. "I'm going to try and heal these two up while I'm waiting to make my report. I have to ask you both to please not leave the Center until Officer Jenny arrives and gets statements from you."

"Channnnsey." The word 'heal' seemed to be familiar to the Chansey working behind the counter, the large pink Pokémon smiling before reaching into its pouch and bringing out a square spray bottle filled with blue liquid, holding it as best it could in its two round arms towards Nurse Joy with a wide smile. "Chanseeeeey chan!"

"Thank you, Chansey. That's just what I need!" Nurse Joy gave her coworker a smile before twisting the cap off the spray bottle and inspecting the settings on it, twisting it to a different setting. She then began spraying the liquid onto the Eevee and Pikachu, the medicine softly coating them with a fine blue mist. She then gently ruffled their fur to make sure the medicine would reach their skin and work its magic, the effect immediate as soon as the last of the spray had been absorbed.

"Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Vuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

Both Pokémon leapt off the counter directly into Ash and Gary's arms, the Eevee choosing Gary and wagging happily while the Pikachu lightly nibbled at Ash's shirt. The two then decided to have a race after receiving some affection from the boys, both leaping down to the floor and racing around the Center while cheerful cries and the soft clambering of paws echoed through the mostly empty building. During one lap, the two stopped just long enough to make happy noises in Ash and Gary's general direction before galloping off again.

"Well, it looks like they're feeling much better, doesn't it?" asked Nurse Joy with a laugh. "I guess we can let them run around until Officer Jenny gets here." Her Pokénav rang and Nurse Joy picked up the device after seeing who the caller was. "And there she is. I need to make my report, would you two mind sitting over in the reception area?" she asked politely.

Gary and Ash wandered over to two beige-colored leather sofas that they'd passed on the way in, plunking themselves down on opposite ends with a pair of tired sighs. The soft, comfortable couch seemed to act like a sleeping pill, both boys yawning and getting comfortable as the adrenaline of finding, catching and bringing the Pokémon to the Center quickly wore off despite the noise created by two Pokémon racing around. "Haulin' them here was some workout," muttered Gary as he nursed his tired right arm, the murmured hum of Nurse Joy's conversation adding to the white noise in the background.

"No kidding," Ash replied as he cradled his own overworked arm. "I almost can't feel my arm at all. We had to get 'em here as fast as we could, though." The two then settled into a companionable silence that lasted until a blue-haired woman wearing a blue police uniform walked through the door with a clear purpose, efficient staccato footsteps falling behind her as she made a beeline for Nurse Joy's counter. A Growlithe was hot on her heels, taking in everything and happily whining when it caught sight of Nurse Joy and Chansey, its nub of a tail furiously wagging and mouth lolling, the small Fire-type panting happily.

The uniformed woman spoke to Nurse Joy at length while it appeared that the Eevee and Pikachu had finally tuckered themselves out, the pair curling up to sleep in a rugged corner. Her conversation with Nurse Joy finished, the officer walked over to Gary and Ash and pulled out a notepad. "I'm Officer Jenny. I assume you boys are the ones that brought in the two Pokémon that Nurse Joy reported?" She offered an apologetic look. "I'm afraid I'll have to have you both tell me what happened again." Her Growlithe wandered back over to its master.

"That's us," nodded Gary. "Found 'em in Pallet Town under a bush, no owners nearby or anything."

Ash picked up where Gary left off. "With the way they looked I thought somebody had dumped 'em after a battle without taking them to a Center. They were pretty skinny and beat up, so we fed 'em and then brought them here."

"I see. Well, you boys definitely did the right thing. Their owners are going to be investigated for cruelty based on what you've told me and what Nurse Joy showed me." Officer Jenny made some notes. "Do you know if these Pokémon are owned by anyone in Pallet Town?"

Gary shook his head. "Could be, but I've never seen either of them until tonight and Pallet Town's tiny. Either Ash or I would have seen at least one of them by this point if someone in Pallet owned them."

"Yeah, and there's only one person in town right now that even has any Pokémon. No way we would've missed 'em," added Ash with emphasis.

Officer Jenny closed her notebook and smiled. "Alright, thanks for the information. Now to find out who their owners are. I'm going to have some serious questions for them." She pulled a small, square black colored device out from her belt and walked over to the pair of sleeping Pokémon, turning the device sideways then kneeling down and running the device gently down the backs of both the Eevee and Pikachu, the two not even waking up. A confused look crossed her face after she studied the device and softly whacked it a couple times. "I hope that's not right," she quietly muttered before trying again, then standing up and awaiting a reply from the small machine.

 **"Error Zero Zero Two now confirmed after second attempt. No breeder chips detected on scanned Pokémon One or Two. Please try to scan again,"** chirped a cheerful, feminine robotic voice that suddenly issued from the small device.

"Wait. _Neither_ of them has a chip? How could that happen?" asked Ash with a cocked eyebrow.

"It could happen a few different ways, although it's incredibly rare," frowned Officer Jenny as she studied the sleeping pair of Pokémon. "Their owner may have had their chips surgically removed and then dumped them, or they could have had their chips removed to replace them, but they somehow ran off before the new ones could be put in. They could also be escapees from an unregistered black market breeder that never had them chipped in the first place. Those breeders don't tend to like putting their information out there," she finished with a rueful smile.

Gary asked a question he almost didn't want to in light of the new information. "What happens to them if their owner or owners can't be tracked down?"

"I'm going to check the worldwide missing Pokémon database, but I've got a funny feeling I won't find anything on these two. We'll take it from there if that's the case." Officer Jenny smiled at Gary before pulling out a dark blue Pokénav and efficiently tapping on it. After a minute or two, she nodded and put the device away. "Exactly as I thought. No missing report of an Eevee or Pikachu at all." After placing the Pokénav back into her pocket, she turned to Ash and Gary. "Technically, I'm supposed to report unregistered Pokémon to the League and take them there to be registered for use in the League's training arenas. That is, unless I can find a licensed trainer or trainers to take them both and pay the registration fees with the League for them."

* * *

"Hey, kiddo! C'mon, up with ya!"

Tracey Sketchit mentally swam to consciousness as he felt a great shaking on his left shoulder. He opened his eyes and almost yelled in fright as the fuzzy, incredibly large man in front of him slowly zoomed into focus. Tracey's eyes widened and his right hand went to his chest before he remembered where he was and why. He then closed his eyes and let out a calming breath before getting to his feet a little unsteadily due to the slight rocking motion of the dented up and well used small cargo boat that he was in, gentle waves making soft lapping sounds as they met the boat. The briny smell of the sea filled Tracey's lungs as he took a few deep breaths of the brisk night air to fully awaken himself.

The veteran sailor he'd bummed a ride to Kanto from three days ago, who'd given his name as Walter, was illuminated by bright lights that ran the length of both sides of his vessel, his white T-shirt stained yellow by the lights. Walter grinned at Tracey, his sun-reddened, burly face lighting up. "Didn't mean t' startle ya, but we're in Kanto waters now, right next t' Pallet Town offa 21. This 's where ya wanted t' get off at, innit?" The massive man stroked his wild black beard as he turned from Tracey and surveyed the inky landscape, adjusting his well-worn sailor's hat during the process.

Walter then dug into the front left pocket of his faded blue jeans and pulled out a tarnished silver pocket watch, examining it under the yellow lights and smiling widely. "Made some real good time from Trovita, we did. Th' wind was with us; now t' hope she stays with me till I get t' Vermilion." Walter folded the map back up, put it away then looked down at the sea and frowned. "'Fraid this is as close as we'll be able t' get. Ya may get a bit wet makin' landfall."

"That's OK. Thanks a lot for the lift," replied Tracey with a smile as he somehow squeezed his sketchbook into his orange backpack that was almost bursting at the seams and got ready to wade to the shore. He carefully made his way down the ladder on the side of the boat and found the bottom half of his legs almost instantly, wholly numbed by the icy cold water, the Orange Islands native's teeth chattering as he thought of the balmy waters of home. _Oh come on. I haven't even been gone four days yet. This is no time to get homesick,_ he mentally chided himself as he began to wade his way to shore. He heard Walter call out after he took a few steps.

"Hey, will ya be needin' a ride back? I'm headin' back t' the Islands in a week, not t' far outta my way t' swing back by here 'fore headin' that way."

"I appreciate the offer, but don't worry about it. I plan on spending some time travelling the mainland," half-yelled Tracey in reply. "Thanks again," he finished with a wave before the sailor nodded back with a smile, then fired up his boat's engines and slowly vanished into the night. Once Tracey slogged to shore, he pulled out a Pokéball and released the sole Pokémon he possessed, an aging male Scyther that had been given to him in lieu of a cash payment two years ago from a breeder who'd wanted several sketches of his prize winning Rapidash. "Well, we're here. Sorry that you had to stay in your ball for the whole trip, but you were kind of freaking Walter out."

"Scyyyyyyyyyyyy-therrrrr scy." His tone was distinctly unamused as Scyther shot Tracey a glare before surveying their unfamiliar surroundings, a calm seashore stretching on either side of them with a dirt path leading inland.

"Seems pretty quiet around here, doesn't it?" Tracey pulled a towel out of his backpack and quickly dried his legs. "Now to try and find a place to spend the night," he muttered as he threw the damp towel over his shoulder then pulled out a thin guidebook entitled 'A Trainer's Guide to Kanto' from his pocket. Not that Tracey planned to engage in the Kanto Gym Challenge, but he figured it would be a good idea to find out who was who in the Kanto Pokémon world. People that owned Pokémon were one of his main sources of income, after all. His sketches were the only way that he'd been able to afford the expense of the Pokémon licensing exam, which had become a necessity after the kindly breeder had offered the Scyther to him; Tracey had always had a soft spot for Bug-type Pokémon.

"Scy scyther scy?" Scyther tapped the side of his scythe-like arm on a brightly illuminated sign reading 'ROUTE 1. PALLET TOWN STRAIGHT AHEAD'.

"Good; we're right on track. Let's see if we can find a hotel." Tracey set off down the path as fast as he could manage with the case of sea legs that was quickly rearing its head. "I have to admit, it'll be nice to sleep on solid ground again."

After walking for a bit, Tracey and Scyther arrived in Pallet Town to find it completely quiet and deserted, everything so quiet it almost gave the Pokémon artist the creeps. _Hmm...doesn't even look like anyone's awake here. Guess it's time to check the guide again._ Tracey ran a finger down the first page until he found what he was looking for.

 _ **ROUTE 1**_

 _ **TOWN: PALLET TOWN**_

 _ **Amenities: None**_

 _ **Gym Challenge Location?: No.**_

 _ **You will find Pallet Town connected to the sea by Route 21 to the south. This route heads inland and becomes Route 1 as it exits Pallet Town to the north, continuing directly into Viridian City.**_

 _ **TOWN: VIRIDIAN CITY**_

 _ **Amenities: Pokémon Center**_

 _ **Gym Challenge Location?: YES. Earth Badge**_

 _Challengers who beat the leader of the Viridian City Gym earn the eighth and final badge of the Kanto Region Gym Challenge, the Earth Badge. Please note that this badge is far and away considered the most difficult in the region to obtain. Only highly skilled trainers should challenge this Gym, and in fact many trainers we've spoken to recommend saving this Gym until the very end of your Kanto Gym Challenge. The leader, Giovanni, is a Ground-type Pokémon specialist._

 _We also note that strangely, this Gym does not seem to be open very often according to the locals._

"Hey Scyther, wanna go rest up at a Pokémon Center? It sounds like there's one not too far from here," queried Tracey as he tucked the book in his pocket.

"Scyther scyyyy scytheeeeeeer!" was the enthusiastic reply, Scyther's wings beating rapidly as he cried out happily. His joints bothered him every now and again as he grew older, but a visit to a Pokémon Center always eased his pain for at least a week. All he'd understood was 'Center,' but Scyther knew it was a good word- a great one, in fact! He quickly fell in alongside his human, the thought of the nice woman in pink who always made him feel better making Scyther's aching joints almost completely vanish already.

 _I swear sometimes that he can understand almost every word I say,_ Tracey mused with an inward laugh as he studied what he swore was a smile on his Pokémon's face.


	2. An Unexpected Offer

"You're _sure_ they came this way?" Bright green eyes flicked around under a dark brown newsboy cap while studying the grassy fields of Route 1 intently and making sure they were alone. A very well-dressed male trainer in a tan pea coat, dark brown slacks and tan wingtip shoes was walking side by side with a Meowth that was also scanning the area intently in spite of the darkness of the evening. "I really wish they hadn't spooked on us. They were both in absolutely horrid shape."

"Exactly why I _told_ ya t' not bring th' Pokéball out, _James_ ," groused the male Meowth in reply so quietly that it would have probably been inaudible if James hadn't been waiting for it before Meowth turned his nose upward and sniffed deeply while he swiveled his head around a bit, trying to better catch the scent of the Eevee and Pikachu they were seeking. "Hmm, they've been here, though it _is_ pretty faint so it's been a bit...an' they're headin' straight south for Pallet if my nose ain't lyin'."

Well, _shit_. Pallet Town meant possible people potentially discovering the wayward pair, and that could lead to... _issues_ , like people getting attacked or people panicking about finding unattended Pokémon and calling in the League- which could in turn lead to the League poking their noses into places James and the organization he worked for would most definitely prefer they not. "We'd better pick up the pace then. We need to try and get to them before anyone else does, so let's make things quicker shall we?" James undid his coat and reached for one of his five Pokéballs attached to a holding belt, plucking a Luxury Ball from its usual slot and tossing it. An Arcanine with a large vertical scar running above, below and through its permanently shut left eye phased into existence in a flash of red light, the massive canine-like Pokémon wandering over to James and licking his face affectionately after realizing that there was no immediate danger, tail wagging happily as James snapped the ball back onto his belt and offered him a few head scratches before re-buttoning his coat. "Heya, Growlie. Meowth will explain what we need to do."

"Right." Meowth then turned to look up at Growlie as James carefully swung his leg up and over the Fire-type's back, slowly lowering himself onto the Arcanine's back. "[Hey, can ya follow that Eevee and Pikachu that are headin' south, please? We need to find 'em right away so step on it, okay?]"

Growlie's eye narrowed as he sniffed the air while Meowth also got onto Growlie's back with James's help, Growlie's ears twitching as he picked up the trail before his head snapped downwards as he fully locked onto the pair of scents, letting out a low chuff. "[Got 'em, but the trail's fading fast. Ready when you both are.]"

"On your signal, James." Meowth then secured himself inside of James's coat because they'd found it way easier a while ago after almost losing Meowth on a few similar trips, poking his head out so it was resting just under James' chin before James gently tapped Growlie's sides and the Arcanine took off like a shot, following the scent while James used one hand to hold onto his hat and one hand to gently grip Growlie's mane. Luckily in spite of Growlie's speed, his gait was smooth enough to not jostle James and Meowth at all while they made their way, now much more rapidly, skirting the edges of Viridian City before a sudden hard turn south towards Pallet Town. Growlie suddenly stopped, his head popping up and looking around in confusion as they hit the quiet, moonlit outskirts of Pallet Town proper a few minutes later.

"[Lost them right here...it's like they went into water, the scent's totally gone. Hmm.]" The Arcanine sniffed intently and frowned as he fruitlessly tried to re-pick up the scent while James got off his back.

"Growlie totally lost th' trail alla sudden right at this spot...weird." Meowth frowned as he examined the area while he freed himself from James' coat before a pair of blurs on wheels making rapid clicking sounds went flying down the main path and made a beeline for the largest house in the small town. "Whoa...what th' heck was that?"

James quickly returned Growlie to his Luxury Ball, not wanting his large Pokémon to potentially be spotted, before he looked down at Meowth. "What say we go do some investigating? That sounded and looked like a pair of bicycles, and it's awfully late at night for people to be out riding." Meowth nodded wordlessly before they wandered into town and in the direction of the large house, keeping in the shadows. They started hearing an excited voice when they drew closer.

"...and she said we can have them if we can get a license and register them with the League!" A raven-haired boy wearing a red and white hat was talking rather animatedly to someone on the other side of the house's door that James had no way of seeing, looking very excited and gesturing wildly, almost hitting the sandy-haired boy next to him though the other boy seemed to expect it and rather artfully dodged around the gesticulations. James quietly took out his PokéNav and snapped a few pictures of the pair once he realized that they had to be speaking about the Eevee and Pikachu they'd been searching for, deciding that this should probably be reported to his boss to see how they wanted to handle the situation.

"Hmm. So neither of them had chips, eh? That's quite interesting, though not unexpected considering the shape they were both in. Why don't you both come in and we'll discuss this some more over some cocoa?" The pair of boys vanished inside the house after an older-sounding man had issued the invitation, the door closing behind them.

James immediately fired off the pictures he'd taken to a number that he'd long ago memorized along with a text as he and Meowth slipped back out of Pallet Town and started heading towards Viridian City again. **Things went a bit sideways with the job in the Plateau tonight and a couple Pokémon fled the scene- call me when you can please. Also need to know who these two are, both likely from either Pallet Town or Viridian City- they're the ones that found the Pokémon.**

 **Calling in twenty or sooner** , came the almost instant reply. James knew that normally the call would have been immediate, but his boss was likely going to spend a bit of time reaching out to their contacts to see what they could find out about the boys. James just hoped that things wouldn't turn into too much of a mess to clean up.

"S' what's the plan for now?" muttered Meowth under his breath as they headed back north. "Hang around th' Center an' see if they come back?"

"Probably. We at _least_ know where the Eevee and Pikachu are at now, so there _is_ that, and I'm sure those boys will be heading back to the Center sooner or later. I'm expecting a call in a bit here as well, so we'll probably get our marching orders then after I fully fill them in." Neither needed to mention who the call would be from.

"Yeah. Next time I say a Pokéball'll freak 'em out, though, _listen t' me_ ," quietly replied Meowth with an eye roll. "Tha' Eevee was about ready t' tear it apart, injured an' starved or not. Took all m' persuadin' skills t' have 'em not try an' tear your _face_ apart instead, might I add."

James frowned and nodded. "I know, but well...I think we can both agree there were some extenuating circumstances at the time. I wasn't expecting them to just suddenly turn tail and run off, though."

"Yeah, I tried t' ask 'em t' stay with us s' we could get 'em t' a Center, but they were determined t' do things on their own." Meowth sighed and shook his head. "Jus' glad that someone that cared found 'em. Wors' case I guess they'll wind up in one o' the trainin' arenas, or with those boys if we don't get put under orders t' steal 'em back from th' Center." The two let the conversation drift off after that, quietly heading to the north until they re-arrived in Viridian City and headed into the Pokémon Center, finding that they had company in the form of a boy with a Scyther by his side. _Eh? That's weird. Where's his guardian at?_ The Center's Nurse Joy was giving the boy a sympathetic look while an Officer Jenny was explaining something to him, the boy looking a mixture of confused and upset.

"I _do_ apologize and I know it's quite the trip here from the Orange Islands, but per Kanto and Johto laws since you're under sixteen you can't stay unless you find a guardian that's of legal age to accompany you for your trip. Having a Pokémon with you will make you a target for thieves _especially_ if you're travelling alone, so it's for your own safety."

The boy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Shoot. Wish I woulda known that before I made the trip out here. We don't have to do anything like that out on the Islands, and I made the trip out here by myself. But I mean, isn't the whole registration thing supposed to stop thieves?"

Jenny gave him a grim, if apologetic look. "In theory, yes. In practice, thieves have several methods of getting around our systems up to and including entirely removing chips. It's an ongoing battle."

James processed the scene before settling on an idea, wandering over with a smile. He could definitely try to turn this situation to his advantage. "Hello there- couldn't help but overhear what was going on." Meowth quickly gave him a Look, but James would explain later. "I'm James. Sounds like you could use a travelling companion, or rather a guardian, for your stay with us?"

"Seems like it." The boy and his Scyther turned to James with somewhat wary looks, and James noticed that the boy seemed expertly packed for a long trip, his backpack almost bursting before the boy blinked. "Oh, I'm Tracey, by the way."

"Good to meet you! Are you here for the Gym Challenges, or-?" James raised an eyebrow, leaving the deliberately leading question hanging.

Tracey laughed. "Oh, no. I only have a Companion License, and Scyther. I just kind of wanted to travel around for a while and see Kanto and Johto, really. I do like watching Pokémon, though, so I was also planning to check out some of the Gyms and Training Centers, maybe try and catch a tournament or two."

 _Perfect._ No one would bat an eye at a guardian accompanying an excited kid on a journey- exactly what James was hoping Tracey would agree to. It would be an even better mask for his and Meowth's work than his current wandering-trainer shtick, and if this Tracey kid only had a Companion License it meant that he couldn't participate in any of the Gym Challenges- all the better for being able to help point the journey to places that James needed to go for his work. "Nothing wrong with that," James replied with a shrug. "I do have a Trainer's License myself, though I've only done half of the Kanto Gym Challenge and I've never found myself in Johto long enough to make any serious headway on that side of the mountains. Maybe we could travel together for a while?" James could feel the assessing gaze of the Scyther on him as he focused his attention on Tracey, knowing that the Pokémon was likely fiercely protective of the boy. He gently tapped Meowth with his foot and tilted his head at the Scyther a tiny fraction, their long-established code for asking Meowth to run some interference. "I'd be happy to show you my license if it would put your mind at ease."

 _Of course_. Annoyed, Meowth stepped forward and put on his 'cute act,' approaching the Scyther as non-threateningly as possible. "[Heya. What are you guys doin' tonight?]" As was his usual practice around most everyone except James and James' other Pokémon, Meowth pretended like he couldn't understand much 'human' at all and had no idea of the situation at hand, trying to get on the Scyther's good side with some light conversation. Something he dearly hoped he could do because the Scyther acted like they had previous battle experience, constantly facing Meowth with their weight shifted ever so slightly forward in anticipation of either dodging or performing an attack, and they could probably do some serious damage with those blades of theirs if they put their mind to it. Meowth had zero combat training, and he knew he didn't stand a chance if the Scyther decided that they didn't like James and him enough to get ugly. While he got busy chatting up the Scyther, he half-listened to James and Tracey talking. Meowth wasn't sure what exactly James had in mind aside from that he was _really_ trying to become the boy's guardian for some reason, but he knew James would explain things when he could safely. After a bit James' Pokénav went off and Meowth knew that that had to be their mysterious boss calling.

"Ah, if you'll please excuse me I _really_ need to take this call. Be back as soon as I can." James then quickly stepped outside of the Center and answered the device, putting it to his ear though not speaking, as per established protocol while he looked for a more private location.

"The black-haired one in the hat is Ash Ketchum, a Pallet native who lives there with his mother Delia. The one in the purple shirt is the one I'm _really_ interested in- he's another Pallet Town resident named Gary. Gary _Oak_ ," his boss's always digitally disguised, sexless voice finished with emphasis. "Apparently he's been living there with his grandfather since the Verdanturf Incident six years ago. And yes, his grandfather is _exactly_ who you think he is." There was the sound of a door opening and shutting. "Needless to say, for that reason I want you staying _very_ close for now and seeing what those boys decide to do. If they make the choice to register them and start training to take on the League Challenges, you are under _direct_ orders to do whatever is necessary to get yourself appointed as their guardian for their trip. This is to take priority over your normal duties, though naturally if any...opportunities present themselves, I expect them to be fully taken advantage of." James could hear his shadowy boss settling into a chair. "Speaking _of_ your duties. What precisely happened tonight that 'went sideways', as you so eloquently put it, and led to this situation?"

James knew the question was going to be asked, nodding to himself and quietly imparting what he'd already mentally rehearsed. "Our intel was correct- kudos to our little birdie there, though the facility was a little more well hidden than anticipated and I had to be a bit more overt than normal due to that. Ultimately I did shut the facility down after releasing all the Pokémon and getting them into Pokéballs before getting them over to our usual contact here for medical assistance, but this time there was a pair that didn't want to come with me even with Meowth's help, an Eevee and Pikachu that were both in pretty rough shape. They both refused aid and then decided to wander off on their own while Meowth and I were distracted. Meowth and I had to finish our work at the facility so we couldn't follow them for a while, and by the time we managed to track them down that pair of boys had already found them and taken them to the Viridian Pokémon Center."

"I see. Well, I _would_ like to use this little event to our benefit now that it's mostly contained, if at all possible, so keep an eye on the situation and keep me apprised of how it develops. We could potentially gain a pair of very valuable tools in those children if we play our cards correctly. You now have your orders." With that his boss ended the call and James tucked his Pokénav away, dearly wishing he could call the woman that had trained him, Jessie, and pick her brain about what was going on, but he knew that he couldn't risk calling her since she was currently deep undercover. By policy they mostly worked alone except when training a new member that had joined them, a scattered group of like-minded people of all ages and genders across the world that had all been scarred in one way or another (or in James' case, _quite literally_ stumbled onto the truth in the form of Meowth) by the group that they were now seeking to destroy with the aid of their shadowy benefactor carefully orchestrating their work. They'd never formally given themselves a name, but those they were pursuing certainly had, and it seemed to be catching on with the group themselves. James smiled at the thought, subconsciously tucking his hand into his pea coat and curling his hand around a thin white business card exactly like the one he'd left at their now-destroyed facility earlier, seeing the simple, printed text in his mind's eye.

 **TEAM ROCKET SENDS THEIR REGARDS.**


	3. Lost and Found

"Well, the first and largest hurdle will be the expense of the license and registration fees for the both of them. We'd need to find you a guardian or guardians for the journey as well if you decided to pursue becoming trainers and the League Challenge." Samuel Oak laughed softly before taking a sip of his cocoa. "I'm afraid my old bones wouldn't be able to keep up with that kind of long-term travel." There was _also_ the fact that Samuel wasn't even certain he wanted Ash and Gary _going_ on a League Challenge trip even _with_ someone watching out for them, but he elected to not voice those concerns for now.

Samuel trusted Delia and Ash implicitly, but the _rest_ of the world was much more of a question mark, especially since the investigation into what had come to be widely known as the 'Verdanturf Incident' that had left Gary as his sole living blood relative in its wake was still very much open and ongoing. Which was actually _another_ reason for the professor's hesitation- there were certain species of Pokémon that still caused Gary to freeze up a bit when initially seeing them, even just on a television screen, to this day. Very understandably so, Samuel felt, considering what he'd endured, but he didn't at all relish the thought of his grandson stepping into an arena as a trainer and winding up facing one of those Pokémon up close and in the flesh during a match.

Ash blinked and tilted his head a bit in confusion. "A guardian?"

"Indeed- since you're both under sixteen you'd be required to have one if you decided to take on the League." Samuel quirked a brow in Ash's direction. "They have to be an adult, and if they're not your caretaker already they're basically given joint custody of you for the duration of your trip with them. For instance, your mother would need to sign a guardianship agreement with whoever it is if she wasn't going with you, and I would have to sign one for Gary."

Ash's expression brightened. "Oh! Like, if we had to go to a hospital or something it would let them take us, stuff like that?" He then frowned in concentration, the wheels in his head churning. "Hmm...I wonder if Mom _could_ come with us."

"Well, first you gotta decide whether you're gonna go after a Trainer's License or a Companion License, _and_ pass the licensing exam. Nothing else can really happen till then," replied Gary evenly as he polished off his cocoa. "A Companion License is _way_ cheaper, but I think you can only have three Pokémon, and you can't use any of the Training Centers."

Samuel nodded to his grandson. "Companion status _also_ bars any participation in the various Pokémon Leagues. That's precisely _why_ it costs much less for the license itself and for registration, along with only being able to have three Pokémon registered to you at most- it's assumed that your Pokémon are going to be, well, _companions_ , and that you're not going to be making use of any League facilities with the obvious exception of the various Pokémon Centers now and again."

"Eevee and Pikachu both need to rest and put on weight from what Nurse Joy said, too. That'll give us some time to save up and study for the exam!" Ash finished his own cup of cocoa and grinned broadly before giving the other two a serious look. "I wanna ask Eevee and Pikachu about what _they_ want to do, too, if we can figure out a way. Maybe they won't _want_ to battle."

Gary smiled at that. "True- they _should_ both have a say. And, I, uh, think it'd probably be better if we just got _you_ the license. I'm happy to help you study, and I'd definitely love to tag along if you _do_ decide to become a trainer, but well..." Gary closed his eyes and lightly shuddered, not finishing the sentence. Ash and Samuel exchanged a worried glance before Ash wordlessly nodded to Gary, Samuel realizing that his grandson had clearly _also_ thought about the potential of encountering one of the Pokémon that had traumatized him on the other side of a battle. "Not sure I could really focus on the battle itself in a few cases, plus it'll be hard _enough_ to get the money for one license let alone two, right?"

An equal mix of pride that the boys were trying to consider the Pokémon's feelings and relief that Gary's name wouldn't be registered in the League's systems and out in the public eye washed over Samuel. "Well...perhaps I can help with that." There was a mischievous twinkle in the professor's eye. "I've been saving up for a while, and I _do_ believe it the amount I have tucked away right now would be almost exactly enough for, oh, say, one of those licenses and registering them both?" After a pair of wide-eyed, happy looks, the professor pointed up towards the ceiling. "Of course, _that_ can only happen _if_ you pass the exam, so I expect to see a _lot_ of studying going on while Eevee and Pikachu recuperate, hmm? The Trainer's Exam is _also_ much more thorough than the Companion Exam, as a fair warning. I've helped out with both a few times in the past."

A gentle knock suddenly issued from the front door, Samuel answering it after Ash and Gary galloped towards Gary's room and started pulling out different information books and pamphlets on Pokémon. Delia Ketchum, still dressed in the long white cotton apron and old, ankle-length short-sleeved light blue cotton dress she wore while cooking for Pallet House, offered the professor a warm smile as she stepped inside and turned her head in the direction of Ash and Gary's voices rapidly peppering each other with various questions and information about Pokémon down the hallway before Samuel closed the door behind her. "Ah, so Ash _is_ here like I thought, good. I had a feeling after I couldn't find him after I closed up for the night, but I wanted to be sure."

"Oh, yes he is. My apologies for not letting you know, it's been quite the eventful evening actually. Would you like some coffee or tea?" Samuel gestured towards a pair of plush chairs in front of a fire after Delia politely declined and the two settled in across from each other. "Believe it or not, the boys actually stumbled onto a pair of Pokémon tonight, an Eevee and Pikachu. They've been quite busy taking them to the Center up in Viridian after I assisted with catching them."

Delia blinked, her face showing clear disbelief and her tone also confused. "Wait, how is that even _possible_? Did someone accidentally let one of their Pokémon get away from them or something?"

"Actually, I'm not sure myself." Samuel rubbed his chin in thought. "But apparently from what Ash and Gary were told up at the Center neither of them had a chip, and no owner's reported them missing. They were both in pretty terrible shape as well from what I could tell when I helped to catch them, grossly underweight and like they'd been through quite a few battles without being healed." This was followed by a frown. "I'm almost wondering if they weren't abandoned, but even _that_ would be pretty unlikely considering how much an Eevee, in particular, must be worth. Even back before everything changed, Eevees were fairly rare and commanded hefty sums or pretty high-end trade offers. I can only imagine how it is these days."

"You know, sometimes I think the Alolan Federation was really smart to refuse to join the Global League considering it all," muttered Delia sadly with a shake of her head. "Of course, I was just a kid even younger than Ash is now when everything happened, but I _still_ remember all the panic." She then shook her head before offering Samuel a smile, her tone brightening. "On to more pleasant subjects! I hear what sounds like a Pokémon quiz show going on down there in Gary's room. I'm guessing that they're studying for one of the exams?"

Samuel grinned and returned the smile. "Indeed. I've offered to assist with the cost of the license and registering both Pokémon, but of course that's naturally predicated on Ash passing an exam first. They _do_ have some time, at least, since I'm certain it will be a bit before Nurse Joy feels that Eevee and Pikachu are healthy enough to leave her Center. Gary's...opted to just help Ash and not go after either license himself." The professor sighed and leaned back into the chair. "I can't say I'm not more than a little relieved about that."

Delia offered Samuel a sympathetic look. "Gary _still_ won't talk much about it, will he? I know he's opened up to Ash a little about what happened, but Ash hasn't pushed it for obvious reasons."

The professor shook his head firmly. "No, and I haven't wanted to press the matter either. I'm hopeful that someday soon, he'll be ready and able to get it off his chest fully. Perhaps growing close to Pokémon will even help him work through it." Samuel then perked up, sitting upright. "I'm just grateful that Gary has such a good friend in Ash, and I know that he considers you like a mother to him."

"Well, I definitely think of Gary as my second son as you well know," replied Delia warmly. "I was _so_ surprised when Ash brought Gary home for the first time since I hadn't heard that any new families were moving in, but I'd say they're about inseparable at this point." She vividly recollected a dirt-covered, beaming four-year-old Ash eagerly introducing her to an equally dirty, shy sandy-haired boy half-hiding behind him named Gary six years ago, Delia grinning at the memory.

Samuel laughed heartily. "Oh, I'll never forget that day- I nearly had a heart attack when I stepped back into the front yard and Gary was gone! Then you and Ash showed up at the door with him with the boys looking like they'd been rolling in mud." His brow then raised as there was another knock at the door. "Hmm, I'm not expecting anyone. I wonder who that is. Pardon me." He then answered the door to find a very well-dressed, blue-haired trainer with a Meowth perched on his shoulder and hat in his hand standing next to a tanned boy in orange shorts and a green T-shirt that appeared to be around Ash and Gary's age, the boy holding a single, somewhat dinged up Pokéball and offering Samuel a smile and wave with his free hand. _The boy's from the Orange Islands based on his looks, and probably_ very _recently arrived considering how he's dressed. Likely a new trainer just starting the League Challenge and his_ _guardian_ , _then._ "Can I help you both?"

"Hello there! Sorry to intrude like this, but Tracey and I noticed that your lights were on as we were passing through." James couldn't have asked for a more perfect opening to try and ingratiate himself with the legendary Professor Oak and in turn, his grandson. "I'm James. I've just become Tracey's guardian after his arrival from the Orange Islands and well, if I'm honest I'm from Saffron and _very_ unfamiliar with these parts. Are we on the right track to get to Pewter City? Of course, considering the time I'm hoping that this _is_ Pewter City and we can find a place somewhere to rest for the night." Meowth deliberately let out a large yawn that he halfheartedly covered with a paw right on cue.

Samuel shook his head before offering a sympathetic smile. "Afraid not- in fact, you've gone the exact _opposite_ way you needed to. Pewter's north a couple hours or so through Viridian City, then Viridian Forest. We're Pallet Town, about as far south as you can get before being forced to hop a boat."

James let out an artfully executed groan of mock disappointment before turning his head to Tracey with an apologetic expression. "Must have gotten us turned around at some point. Sorry about that." He _had_ gotten them turned around, of course- very much intentionally. James glanced around behind him into the evening, knowing the answer already but hoping that his performance would get him what he wanted. "I don't suppose there's a hotel or bed and breakfast type place anywhere close?"

"Well, Delia _does_ run a great restaurant a few doors away, but she's closed at this hour and we don't have any hotels or even motels here." Samuel then waved them inside. "I'm sure we can figure out something for you two for the night. Come on in."

James offered a half-bow along with Tracey. "Thank you _so_ very much."

Tracey wandered down the hallway that he'd heard boy's voices issuing from a few minutes later after polite introductions to Delia and Samuel, curious what was going on and becoming even more intrigued when he realized they were studying for one of the license exams based on what he could overhear. He knocked on the half-closed door, an energetic-seeming black-haired boy answering the knock with a wide smile. He then blinked and stared at Tracey.

"Uh, hi?" The question was clear in the other boy's tone, Tracey beginning to introduce himself before another boy wandered to the open door, his eyebrow shooting upwards as he, too, took in the stranger.

"New in town I'm guessing?" Dark green, somewhat wary eyes flitted down to the Pokéball in Tracey's hand and he gently nudged the raven-haired boy beside him, pointing at the red and white orb and garnering a wide-eyed reaction.

Tracey smiled at them both. "Heya. My name's Tracey. And yeah, I actually just got here tonight from the Orange Islands." He then snickered and waved Scyther's Pokéball. "Sounds like you guys are reading up for the exams, right? I only took the Companion Exam, but maybe I can still help if you want since it kinda sounds like James and I are here till tomorrow at least?"

" _Awesome_!" Tracey then found himself being softly dragged into the room via his forearm by the shorter of the two. "I'm Ash, and this is Gary," the raven-haired boy continued, gesturing first to himself, then the boy next to him. "We're not sure which exam we're gonna do yet, but we'll take all the help we can get!" Ash finished brightly.

The Orange Islander nodded and settled in on the floor, picking up some of the random stacks of material that were scattered on the floor and studying them. "It's some writing and multiple-choice, but there's also a part where you have to answer questions with whoever's giving you the test. I think the Trainer's License actually involves a mock battle that you're evaluated on too, but like I said I took the Companion Exam." Tracey then quirked a brow. "So which Pokémon are you guys thinking of getting? I have a Scyther myself. He used to be a battler, but his old trainer didn't want to risk him getting hurt as he got older, so I was _really_ lucky and got him with the promise that he wouldn't be battling for some drawings."

Gary and Ash also settled onto the floor as well, Gary shrugging. "Actually, you could say we kinda had our Pokémon chosen _for_ us. It was weird, really." Gary proceeded to relate his and Ash's discovery of Eevee and Pikachu and the subsequent events.

"Huh, that _is_ really weird. I'm glad they're both in good hands and getting better, though." Tracey then picked up a thick book. "I remember there were lots of questions on type matchups, so we should probably start there." The three then fell into an easy companionship, the trio pulling out various books and pamphlets while Tracey tried to steer Ash and Gary towards particular items that he remembered being on the test.

After another hour or two of laughing, banter, review and study, the adults in the living room noticed that the room down the hall had suddenly grown quiet. James was the first to remark on the silence. "Ah, I _do_ believe they've finally fallen asleep in there," he snickered. "You know, you mentioned you haven't found a guardian yet if they _do_ decide to take on the League Challenge. I already have Tracey signed on with me, and he seems to already be getting on famously with Ash and Gary both." James carefully shrugged, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. "It _really_ wouldn't be much more of a hassle to have Gary and Ash tag along with us, if you'd like." James, of course, already _had_ plans to try and steer Ash towards obtaining a Trainer's License since it didn't sound like Gary wanted one, but naturally neither Delia or Samuel needed to know that.

Samuel was still wary, even though James did seem like a genuinely kind person on the surface. "I think it may work out well, but if you'll humor a request of mine first?"

"Of course. What can I do for you?" James had his marching orders, after all- _whatever_ was necessary to become Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak's guardian, and his boss had seemed interested enough in Gary in particular that he knew he couldn't fail this job. The fact that Tracey, who he'd taken under his wing already, seemed to be getting along with them both was a fantastic, unexpected bonus.

"You mentioned that you're a trainer. I'd like to see your Pokémon, if you have them with you."

 _Odd request, but_ _alright_. "Certainly. Let's step outside, hmm?"


	4. A Request

Samuel actually had three separate reasons for wanting to see James' Pokémon, though he would only elaborate on them after so as to not spoil the entire purpose of asking. He stepped outside into his backyard with James at his side and Meowth walking between them after the pair had seen Delia off back home, the professor offering Meowth a smile as the chilly, now early morning air enveloped them. "I know about your Meowth already, obviously."

"Yes, though if I'm honest he's more of a companion despite my license since he's not really much of one for battling. He _also_ isn't nicknamed, as we don't seem to have settled on one that suits him yet." James fully unbuttoned his coat, revealing an expensive-looking cream sweater and his slightly left-angled Pokébelt containing five different Pokéballs with a smile. "You'll also note that I only have five Pokéballs, since Meowth doesn't like being in one much at all. I _wish_ he'd stay in one, for his safety with all the thieves and poachers out there these days, but..." James shrugged in a 'What can you do?' gesture and let the sentence drift off unfinished. He and Meowth had actually had several long conversations (well, _almost_ arguments though it never got that heated) about that particular subject in the four years since Meowth had first revealed his ability to fluently talk, read and write 'human' as Meowth called League Common, usually shortened to Common, a language used on a lot of the globe due to needing a universal tongue for Pokémon events and wandering trainers. "Anyway." James reached for Growlie's familiar, well-worn Luxury Ball and popped the release button. "I'll introduce you to my first Pokémon to start things off."

Growlie emerged, looking a bit confused to be summoned again so soon and quickly taking in his surroundings, noticing James' smile and relaxed demeanor before his good eye then settled on Samuel. Growlie wandered over towards the strange human, crouching down a bit to make himself seem smaller and less threatening while taking in the professor. He immediately liked what he smelled and sensed of the older man, Growlie's tail slowly starting to wag, then speeding up before he bumped Samuel's hand with his head, trying to ask for head pats. "This is Growlie, who I've had since I was a child. I lucked out and finally got my hands on a Fire Stone a few years ago for him," he continued as Samuel chuckled and provided Growlie with the affection he was seeking. "He's one of my most skilled battlers, and very much enjoys the spars. He's also wonderfully protective of not only me, but the rest of my team as well." James already had the lie about how Growlie had lost the use of his eye due to a freak battling accident on the tip of his tongue, queued up and ready to play if the legendary professor inquired.

"Most impressive," Samuel responded with a smile as he studied Growlie, evaluating the large Fire-type with a practiced eye as he liberally doled out head skritches. "He definitely looks like quite the athlete." _Which is a good start, but let's see the_ rest _of your team._ "Who do I get to meet next?"

"Sorry Growlie, but you'll have to get more pampering later. Come on back for now." Growlie let out a low whine in protest after the 'come on back' because it meant End Of Pets From The Nice Human but he immediately turned around and stepped towards James, vanishing into the familiar red light as the Fire-type re-entered his ball. James then snapped the Luxury Ball back into place before pulling a Moon Ball from his belt. "Next will be Khiva. I've also had her since I was a child, though I was a bit older when I got her from my parents." He tossed the ball, a female Grumpig who was slightly small for her species appearing and glancing around, mildly puzzled before turning her attention to James, her head slightly tilted. "She's not _quite_ as big on battling and tends to prefer watching, but she's _very_ good at it when she does fight. She's also my little diplomat when meeting new people, or when I have to return something that Bandit decided he liked." James's eyes flashed with amusement.

 _[What's going on, Dad? Do I need to put this guy to sleep for you so we can sneak away?]_

James smirked as Khiva's 'voice' filled his mind, his loyal friend always willing and ready to help with his missions. _[We're not doing any work right now. I'm just introducing you all and trying to make a good impression, so if you could help me out it'd be appreciated.]_ He still recalled how terrified he'd been the first time Khiva had reached out to him back when he'd been ten years old, then being thrilled later when a family friend who owned a Kadabra had been elated after James had gone to her in his panic, explaining to him over a cup of tea that Psychic-type Pokémon like his Spoink were sometimes inclined to establish such mental links with particularly loved, trusted humans. Over the years the link had become second nature to them both, and Khiva had definitely become invaluable both as a battler and for his more subtle, covert work for 'Team Rocket.' She had the habit of calling him 'Dad', having picked it up from hearing James call his own father 'Father' or 'Dad', and James had always found it both charming and a mark of how close they were.

 _[You better not bring out Bandit then if that's what you're after,]_ Khiva mentally retorted to James with amusement clearly evident in her 'voice' and face before she smiled at Samuel and walked over, daintily offering her left paw to the professor.

Samuel knelt down and grinned as he gently shook Khiva's paw. "Pleased to meet you, Khiva. Aren't you a polite one!" A critical eye took in her condition before the professor internally nodded. "I can see why you're James' representative."

 _[His aura's really kind. Are we trying to help him, Dad?]_ Khiva then offered a wider, almost beaming smile to Samuel accompanied by a soft, happy squeal, one of her ears still turned slightly to James, curious about her friend's answer.

 _[That's the plan, and the reason I'm trying to get into his good graces- so that we can take his grandson and his grandson's friend on our trip along with_ _Tracey.]_ James couldn't help the grin that flitted across his face when Khiva brightened at this. She'd almost instantly taken quite a shine to Tracey when he'd done a similar round of introductions with the Orange Islander earlier, so the prospect of meeting more children probably exited her. "She's definitely a big help in that regard," James replied with a nod. "And I need _all the help I can get_ with Bandit around," his tone merry before he finished the sentence with a mock eye roll.

Samuel chuckled and stood back up. "Well, you keep mentioning Bandit. I think I'd like to meet them next." Khiva immediately shot James a distinctly amused look after she heard the word 'Bandit' from the professor.

James groaned internally, knowing that Khiva could hear it. _[Thanks for the help, I'm going to go ahead and return you. Seems like Bandit's up next...wish me luck.]_ He returned Khiva to her ball, his friend's gentle laughter filling their mental link until it was severed upon her full re-entry. James _also_ didn't miss Meowth's sly, knowing smirk half-hidden behind a paw and Meowth's body softly shaking with suppressed mirth as the cat Pokémon studied the goings-on from a cushion that he'd found on the porch. "Right then, on to Bandit. Let me both assure _and_ warn you before I let him out, he's _well_ earned the nickname for _exactly_ the reasons you suspect despite our best collective efforts. I believe we're _still_ banned from a few stores in Celadon and Saffron." He missed Samuel's wide smile at the phrase 'our efforts' as James clicked Khiva's ball back into place and unhooked a Friend Ball, loosing a Krookodile with the end of his shorter than normal tail coming to a rounded nub and a sky blue bandanna proudly worn around his neck. "I agreed to take him on from a trainer visiting from Sinnoh who was having a _lot_ of difficulty controlling him. He listens now, at least _mostly_." Having a Pokémon that was an expert pickpocket who could _also_ crack almost any lock anywhere had its decided advantages for the less-than-legal parts of James's duties for Team Rocket as well, though naturally Samuel didn't need to know _that_ now did he?

Bandit glanced around and immediately honed in on the professor's shiny belt buckle, loosely lifting his arms a bit and gently tapping his claws together as he confidently sauntered over and gave Samuel a toothy grin before looking over to James with a lifted brow and adjusting his bandanna, the _Do I jack stuff from this twolegs?_ signal that was responded to by a single quick, vehement back and forth of James's head. Bandit put his arms down and let out a dejected huff, Fun Time denied because it didn't look like there was going to be a battle in the offing either since the older twolegs talking with James wasn't wearing a house belt. He started surveying the area intently, claws itching to get his hands on something Shiny that wasn't the now-sadly-forbidden belt buckle- or failing something Shiny, something laying around. _Aha!_ He spied Meowth's head coin glinting in the light from the porch and ambled over in that direction, Samuel and James both watching with amusement as Bandit approached with a wide grin.

"[Oh _NO_ ya don't.]" Meowth quickly got up as soon as Bandit started wandering over and protected his coin with both paws while Bandit tried his best Innocent Face. "[ _Back off_. I've told ya a hundred times!]"

Bandit pretended to look disappointed, this game old and familiar to them both. "[Aww c'mon, let me hold it for just a _little bit!_ I'll give it back, promise!]"

"Right, I'm going to go ahead and return him for poor Meowth's sake." Bandit disappeared back into his ball, James shaking his head and sighing dramatically. "He's been trying to get his hands on Meowth's coin since I've had him. I swear Bandit has Honchkrow in his veins sometimes- he _loves_ shiny things, probably _far_ too much for his own good."

"I get the feeling that one's _quite_ the handful for you at times, but I'm glad he's found you and the others." Samuel continued to be impressed by James and the clearly close friendship he had with his team just as much as their excellent condition, but there were two more to go- and the last two would make the decision for the professor.

"Oh, you have _no_ idea, but we're not giving up on him, and he's a good Pokémon at heart." James returned Bandit to his slot before extracting a Premier Ball from his belt with a smile. "Next will be Aria. Be warned that she's a bit... _overly_ enthusiastic sometimes, but she means well." The Noivern eagerly enveloped James in a hug the instant she finished materializing, James almost vanishing in her large wings. She then spied Samuel and immediately flew over, chittering happily at him during her approach before she tossed her wings around him for a similar hug and settling her wings to either side of her afterwards. Aria was James' people barometer, and she had yet to fail him in the eight years they'd been together- there was generally not a person Aria met that she didn't instantly like and try to joyfully shower with affection, so if she _did_ react badly to someone James knew that there was a reason for it and instantly steered away from them. Even 'Team Rocket's' wholly-cloaked-in-shadows, nameless, sexless boss had, after being forewarned, received the Aria Stamp of Approval during the single (kind of) face-to-face they and James had ever had when they'd asked to see James' team during the finalization of his recruitment into the organization.

Aria's antics got a hearty laugh out of the professor, Samuel stroking her head while Aria continued to make content, cheerful noises. "I see what you meant! What a friendly lady. This is also a real treat for me- I haven't gotten to see a Noivern up close since back before...things changed." James noticed Samuel visibly winced, and also noted that the professor didn't refer to the thirty year old, world-changing incident by any of its many nicknames. The Event, Black Vein, The Panic, The Suffering, The Great Plague, Geosenge Syndrome...it was known as many things in many dialects across the different region-states of the world, but almost anyone anywhere would immediately know what you were referring to regardless of the appellation used. _Of course_ , James realized as he pondered the implication. _He was a fully fledged Pokémon Professor even back then. He and the other professors and researchers at that time probably got to see a_ lot _of the carnage firsthand._ James couldn't help but wince himself in sympathy at the thought, deciding to not broach what would definitely be a delicate subject for the older man. Samuel studied Aria with a reflective look on his face, Aria seeming to sense that something had dampened his mood and trying to cheer the professor up with another hug and soft, encouraging chittering.

James let Aria work her magic for a bit, the professor's mood clearly improving before he finally decided to break in. "That leaves just Zinnia left for you to meet. I hope you're not scared of Bug-types," he began with levity. "She's an Aradios, and a bit on the shy side."

"Not at all," replied Samuel with a grin as James recalled Aria after giving her the signal, a pair of muted whistles. James' final Pokéball, a Net Ball, was swapped out for Aria's and exactly as James had expected, Zinnia promptly scooted behind him for protection before she slowly poked her head out from behind him, head slowly moving around in intent inspection before she took a few tentative steps out from behind him and further into the yard. After she got her bearings she gained some confidence, curiously approaching the professor and rearing up a bit before smelling him with her feet and pedipalps. Satisfied after taking in his scent that this new Tall One was a Good Tall One like James and not a Bad Tall One so her friend probably didn't want him webbed, Zinnia visibly relaxed and looked back to James expectantly, seeing if he needed anything from her. Samuel also visibly relaxed after the final member of James' team had been revealed, James hoping that it was a good sign. "Thank you very much for indulging me. Feel free to put Zinnia away, and let's talk. I'm more than satisfied and happy to have Gary travel with you, but well...there's something you need to know, and it may take a while. I'm sorry to keep you up, but this talk needs to happen while the boys are sleeping."

Glad that he and his team's work had paid off, James followed the professor inside after calling Zinnia back into her ball. He, of course, suspected that at least part of the conversation would be relating to the Verdanturf Incident, and James was actually rather keen to hear the professor's account- after all, _Samuel_ had probably gotten a narrative of events at some point from the sole surviving eyewitness, his grandson, and Team Rocket had been wanting to find out for quite a while if their suspicions about the affair were close to the mark. It had _their_ fingerprints everywhere on it, and James highly suspected that Gary Oak being that eyewitness in addition to Samuel Oak's grandson was what had spurred their boss to assign him this job in the first place. James would have to adjust, he hadn't really been planning on actually going to League locations and really sort of gently prodding Tracey from place to place, but it was what it was at this point. He settled in across from the older man, James attempting a somewhat puzzled look, waiting for Samuel to start.

"I appreciate you letting me see your friends, by the way- and I can tell that's what you are to each other. Friends," Samuel began with a warm smile. "That was my first reason- I wanted to see what kind of relationship you have with your Pokémon, and I can tell that there's a lot of love and affection there on both sides. The second reason was to make sure that your friends would be strong enough to protect my grandson, and I can tell they will be. The third reason is that you _don't_ have certain Pokémon..." Samuel shut his eyes and leaned back in his chair, forming a triangle with his pointer fingers before letting out a deep breath as he opened his eyes again. "What do you know about the Verdanturf Incident?"

 _Most everything,_ thought James drolly before deciding to play it half-dumb. "I remember reading a bit about it, something about everyone's Pokémon going berserk in the Pokémon Center out there?"

"Yes." Samuel fidgeted, his face a mask of pain. "Gary...is the only one, human _or_ Pokémon, that escaped that center alive." Samuel shuddered. "They showed me a few of the photos so that I could understand what Gary was dealing with- it was the stuff of nightmares. Imagine the worst and most gruesome of murder scenes, and you'll get an idea." There was a pregnant pause. "They found him while they were calling and searching for survivors and found him in a little storage trunk under the front desk- they believe the Nurse Joy there saved him by grabbing him and stuffing him into it because he was small enough to fit. He was utterly terrified, for obvious reason, and sobbing over and over again that the Pokémon had 'gone red'." A shaky breath followed. "Gary came to live with me afterwards." He then handed James a small slip of folded paper. "Because of what he went through, there are certain Pokémon that he doesn't react well to. This is the list of them that I've noticed so far. Just...please keep it in mind. I know while he's travelling that an occasional encounter will be unavoidable, but..." Samuel gave James an almost pleading look.

James nodded firmly, taking the paper. "I absolutely promise that I'll do what I can."


	5. Illusion

A familiar voice issued into her room after the door was knocked on, the woman hoping it was time for the meeting she'd been waiting almost two weeks for. "It is time for the meeting with the Master, Sol. He awaits you in the Chamber. Bring your friends as well." The young man known as Geyser gently closed the door after he delivered his message.

Jessica 'Jessie' Stanton, or rather Sol as she was currently known during this deep-cover mission, quickly got up from where she was sitting in her large, earthen- walled underground bedroom as soon as the door had closed, her heart pounding in her chest and her ears filling with her heartbeat's loud, nervous tempo to the point where she almost couldn't hear anything as she tried to will her body to relax. All the hours spent infiltrating them as the expertly crafted out of whole cloth 'Gina Tennyson', slowly building trust, patiently rising through their ranks until she'd finally been given her 'Enlightened Name' after the first year, it _all_ came down to this meeting now. She ran a somewhat shaky hand through short, choppy chocolate-colored locks, both deliberate choices to try and get as far away from her natural long, magenta hair as possible, as she strolled over towards the bed hiding two of her three Pokémon partners and pulled her large hood over her head. Nearly two years of work would shortly either pay off handsomely _or_ she'd have to quit the entire sting, something Jessie was _highly_ loathe to do after all of the time and effort spent getting to this point.

Plus, if Jessie was frank she was _more_ than a little protective-feeling towards the group she'd infiltrated. She'd discovered very soon after her 'accidental' bumping into them that they were basically harmless, founded twenty years ago on the idea that humans had done something wrong to invoke Black Vein, as they called it in Johto. They were pacifists and genuinely kind people who desired nothing more than to try and heal the world, to try and restore Pokémon back to the wild where they belonged by attempting to understand and atone for whatever the human species had done to cause Pokémon to largely vanish from the globe thirty years ago and deprive quite a lot of the world of Pokémon companionship.

Most of their work was cleaning up old habitats and attempting to start a few wild re-introductions under careful League supervision, a task not very easy due to the Pokémon poachers and thieves constantly flitting around the edges of the freshly introduced Pokémon's intended territories just _waiting_ for a chance to sneak in and grab what they saw as free Pokédollars walking around. Being a Johto native Jessie had immediately found rapport with the group, especially as they particularly revered (and had named themselves after) Lugia, Guardian of Balance and Guardian of the Seas, the deity Jessie had to admit tended to be the recipient of most all her prayers when she found herself so inclined. Unfortunately, these well-intentioned people were being quietly being strung along behind the scenes by _them_ just like too much of the rest of the globe, which was the entire reason Jessie had undergone joining them in the first place.

"Chaaa _aaaaaa_ rbok." Her oldest friend, Fang, slithered his long, muscular bulk out from under Jessie's bed, flared out his hood and glided to her right side. She and Fang had been inseparable since the days when she'd, _ahem_ , kind of sort of hid him and took care of him as a kid without a license of any kind after finding an Ekans wandering alongside the road by her foster home looking confused with a still bleeding, open hole in the back of his neck where a breeder chip should have been. He seemed to sense the gravity of what was about to happen, Fang nodding to Jessie before trying to look as tall and regal as possible. Fang was followed shortly by Striker, her also highly devoted Seviper she'd received as an egg from one of her cohorts in Team Rocket years ago, the two boys usually creating quite the sight when Jessie wandered down the dug-out hallways with them. Jessie had heard things along the lines of 'crazy snake woman' good-naturedly muttered behind her back more than a few times in the corridors and rooms of the underground compound they were in, and it never failed to bring a genuine smile to her face. Striker, as usual, picked up on his 'big brother' Fang's energy and also tried to look as solemn as he could, fluidly taking his usual position to Jessie's left.

Her third Pokémon was one James had traded her for Zinnia before she'd started this little gambit, both so Gina Tennyson wouldn't be presenting herself with the same exact three registered Companion Pokémon as Jessie Stanton _and_ so that she didn't have a nearly mono-type team. James had correctly pointed out back during their last week of his training that while _he_ had four other Pokémon to help cover for Zinnia's shyness, Jessie only had two, and _they_ were both pure Poison-types along with Zinnia being part Poison type herself to boot, meaning one decently trained Psychic or Ground-type could likely wipe out her entire team with ease if Jessie got backed into a corner doing work. Jessie heard the telltale, gentle jingling of Luna, homing in on it coming from her standing wardrobe and finding the Chimecho that James's grandparents had given to him after a raid on an illegal breeder hiding amongst her robes. Luna smiled broadly at Jessie, Fang and Striker before she musically settled herself on Jessie's shoulder, looking like a red and grey scarf accessorizing Jessie's light grey robes. "Alright. Time to see if all of our work's paid off." _With luck, I'll_ finally _get to meet one of these 'living bridges' they keep going on about._

Jessie left her personal bedroom- both a massive luxury and earned privilege among the group that she hoped meant things would go as planned today- and walked a familiar path down, then left through the twisting, deliberately crafted maze of underground rooms and tunnels towards the Master's Chamber, a massive room with a vaulted ceiling in which most all of the group's meetings were held that also housed the Master's private quarters to the back of it through a large set of double doors. The Master was, as she'd been told, already waiting at his center seat of honor in the middle of the grand stage, the man's ever-present, golden-furred Lucario named Reishi that served as his eyes calmly regarding the incoming quartet before offering a slight, respectful incline of his head.

She often wondered if there'd ever been an attempted kidnapping of Reishi (though she hoped not, even knowing he would be fiercely defended by _all_ of the Children of Lugia if it happened,) because that beautiful golden pelt meant that he was roughly worth, oh, about the GDP of one of the world's medium-sized towns or cities, and _that_ was actually likely low-balling it. She felt immensely lucky even to just have come face to face with a 'Shining' or 'Shiny' Pokémon in her lifetime, the nickname for them varying slightly depending on who you asked. Jessie sat down on her knees, tucking her legs under her and bowed her head, Striker and Fang lowering themselves submissively as well. "You wished to speak with me, Master Tseng?"

The wizened man looked up from a strange Pokéball in his hands with clouded, sightless eyes. "Yes, Pathwalker Sol. As you know, our good friends on a similar, but different path have agreed to present us with a living bridge that will let us freely communicate back and forth with Pokémon. Today, at long last, our bridge has arrived. They'll be an invaluable friend for our work, or so I hope." Tseng held up a strange-looking Pokéball. "It's an absolutely momentous occasion, though one they've requested we keep to ourselves, and Reishi and I have been very busy for the past few weeks observing all of our children to pick from our many Pathwalkers as to whom shall have the honor and privilege of taking care of them." Tseng softly smiled. "We haven't even opened the Pokéball yet. We wanted our chosen caretaker to be the first person they meet among us along with myself and Reishi. We plan on holding formal introductions with everyone else later, once our new friend is settled in and ready for that step."

Jessie could feel her heart thundering again, hoping that Reishi would just put it down to nerves due to the enormity of the situation- the Lucario seemed to know all and sense all, and she'd seen more than a few potential initiates into the Children be rejected outright after Reishi had read their aura. "It's been an incredible honor to be among the final few left for the selection, Master," she carefully replied, trying not to let the words gush forth from her like a torrent. "I can only hope I've proven worthy for the task, but if not I'll learn what the Legendaries desire to teach me from the experience." Reishi's ears ticed, and it felt like he was peering into her soul as Tseng spoke. _So they_ do _have their fingers in this pie, too._ She already felt a bit guilty about how much it would crush the warm-hearted Master Tseng and the peaceful, compassionate Children of Lugia once they learned who and what the Unity Project _truly_ were after Team Rocket could, at long last, expose their heinous crimes to the world, but Jessie also felt more than a small amount of vindication. Her two years was, now, _far_ from wasted especially if she was chosen to look after the Unity Project's 'living bridge.' It was the kind of break Team Rocket had been needing for a while in their shadowy war, if she was successful.

"Wise words. I'm glad to hear you speak them, Pathwalker." Reishi turned to Tseng, and the two appeared to have a long, private conversation via telepathy before they both turned their attention back to Jessie. Tseng then extended his hands, offering the strange Pokéball to Jessie with a smile. "The honor is yours, if you would have it. Your bond of both mind and heart with your Pokémon is strong, and Reishi assures me that your intentions are pure."

Jessie forced every muscle in her body to move slowly as she got up even though she wanted to bounce around like a celebrating Marril, bowing from the waist after she stood. She couldn't _wait_ to get a minute later to finally break silence and contact the boss about her victory. "It would be the highest privilege. I would be very happy to look after our new friend." She took the strange ball in her hands, something instinctively sending a shiver down her spine as she took it in with a frown. It seemed to have the general design of a Friend Ball, but was almost entirely pitch black except for the dots on the front, the band and release button being silver.

"Well? Let's meet our new friend, shall we?" Tseng was rarely ever anxious or in a hurry, and it sounded strange coming from the older man though Jessie fully understood his eagerness. She nodded before tossing the Pokéball which emitted an odd black light, and she and Reishi's shocked expressions mirrored each other after an unconscious young boy who had to be no more than twelve and an also knocked out Zorua materialized on the floor together as the light faded, the Zorua curled up on the boy's chest. Jessie gasped as she also took in some kind of thick, strange black metal device she'd never seen before fully encircling the boy's neck, like some kind of high-tech electronic collar. She found herself curious about what exactly it was before she took in the brown-haired boy's expensive-looking clothing, a luxurious, thick black cotton hoodie and black pants made out of some kind of raw silk that looked like they'd both been custom-tailored to his small, trim frame and an equally pricey looking pair of black tennis shoes.

The Zorua slowly stirred to consciousness, taking in the room while growling lowly at human and Pokémon alike before suddenly transforming into a Zoroark in a flash of purple energy that rippled over its body, standing over the boy protectively with the whites of its sharp teeth standing out starkly against its dark fur as it snarled. Jessie made her hand flat in a 'stop' gesture before quickly placing it at her side, her signal to her team to back off and not attack. Striker and Fang both receded a bit behind Jessie and Luna moved from her spot on Jessie's shoulder and started floating behind Jessie's head, which seemed to make the Zoroark relax at least at little before it started intently sniffing the area with suspicion-filled eyes, still parked directly over the prone boy and clearly very intent on protecting him.

"Something's wrong, I can sense it. What's going on? Sol? Reishi?" Tseng sounded a bit panicked before Reishi and Jessie exchanged a _What in the world is going on and what do we tell Tseng?_ sort of look.

"Ugh..." The boy's eyes twitched as he let out a groan before his impossibly electric blue eyes revealed themselves as he woke up, the Zoroark moving out of the boy's way a little as he stirred while aggressively eyeing everyone else in the room, lips still curled firmly in a snarl though they'd stopped actively growling. Reishi turned his attention to Tseng for a few seconds, likely explaining the situation then seemed to try and calm the Zoroark down as the boy fully sat up and looked around. _It looks like he's coming out of some heavy-duty sleeping drugs of some kind. And how in the world did a HUMAN get into a Pokéball like that?_

She was just starting to really try and assess the situation before the Zoroark was enveloped in more amethyst light and the next thing Jessie saw was several trees and in front of her in a beautiful clearing, the cloudless blue sky beginning to make Jessie already sweat under her heavy robe and the mild breeze doing nothing to alleviate the heat. Fang and Striker both slithered towards her from under a nearby berry tree with Luna hovering behind them, Luna ringing happily as the trio located their human and taking her place back on Jessie's shoulder. _What's going on here?_ Jessie wandered around for a minute or two in search of clues with her Pokémon at her side, taking her suddenly, drastically changed surroundings in before the Pokédollar finally dropped.

Wait. A _Zoroark_ had been involved.

 _Illusions_.

Of _course_. Jessie chided herself bitterly for her oversight, not that it did her any good now, the Johtoan sighing heavily as she glanced around at the seemingly peaceful meadow scene. She _should_ have been thinking ahead and reacted sooner, _should_ have closed her eyes and plugged her ears as soon as she recognized the species. _Shit_ _._ Being blind, Master Tseng would be unaffected at least by the visual portions, but herself and every Pokémon in the room at the time the Zoroark had woven its web were now fully under the sway of the species that had garnered the official title of Illusion Fox due to being so proficient _with_ said illusions.

And she'd have to find a way to break herself and the others out of it before she lost track of the first _real_ clue Team Rocket had a chance of obtaining in ages, because chances were excellent that the Zoroark had elected to weave its illusions in order to make an easier escape to parts unknown with the boy that it had been so clearly and intently protecting.


	6. Black

_Okay. The key to getting us out of this is finding something to disbelieve, something to snap our minds out of it..._ Jessie's eyes wandered over the area as her Pokémon trailed behind her, knowing that breaking out of the mental prison might prove difficult because this illusion was good, _damn_ good- as was to be fully expected from a Zoroark. The feeling of a gentle breeze rustled Jessie's robes and the scent of sweetly flowering Berry trees infested her mind even as she tried to force herself to eschew the pastoral scene. She grew more and more hot under her robes as she, Fang, Striker and Luna continued their exploration of what seemed to all senses to be a Berry tree orchard on a beautiful, cloudless day, a false noon sun beating down on them from above. "Let's split up a little and try to find Master Tseng and Reishi, alright? But _please_ don't wander too far, there's no telling what may be lying in wait for us if that Zoroark's decided to play dirty."

Striker, Luna and Fang obediently set out to the west, east and south respectively after chatting amongst themselves for a few seconds, Jessie heading towards the remaining north. She'd never had direct experience with either a Zorua, Zoroark or their abilities until now, but Jessie was fully on alert and worried. There were rumors that people and Pokémon trapped in Zorua or Zoroark-produced illusions could actually get physically hurt _by_ the illusions if you weren't wary, and the Johtoan _really_ didn't want to find out the hard way if those whispers were true or not. There was little to no doubt that the Zoroark wanted to protect the kid, and as she tried to find something that looked wrong, out of place enough to jolt her mind out of the phantasms surrounding her, Jessie tried to both burn every detail of the boy's face into her mind so she could report everything to her boss later _and_ figure out what exactly the slippery, shadowy Unity Project was up to _this_ time.

 _I mean, this all started because of the 'living bridge' stuff we'd started hearing rumblings about a couple of years ago...what could they possibly mean exactly? Whatever it is, though, based on the fact that they've 'gifted' one to the Children of Lugia the project must be nearing fruition._ Jessie was no closer to an answer to that question even after finally seeing one of the so-called 'living bridges' in the flesh (though only all too briefly thanks to the vigilant Zoroark.) She really, _really_ hoped that they could catch up with the kid and the Zoroark so that Team Rocket could, at long last, make some headway into the mystery. _His eyes were a strange color, maybe 'he' was really_ _a Zorua using an illusion on itself? In which case it might have been the Zoroark's child, which would definitely explain the protectiveness._ Jessie shook her head in disagreement with herself as the thought finished forming. _That_ _wouldn't explain that strange metal collar around the boy's neck, though, and the outfit he was wearing was_ definitely _for a human- and looked_ custom-made _for him, too, so_ that _doesn't seem right either._

Jessie had just begun lightly chewing on her lip in concentration, realizing she should probably stop walking before she wandered too much further when she heard a racket coming from a bit to her right that sounded like a fight, the Johtoan loudly whistling for her Pokémon as she headed towards the commotion to find Reishi entangled in combat with an impossibly massive Bewear, the two exchanging blows with Reishi landing three or four rapid hits with his paws and feet to the Bewear's much slower, but more forceful kicks and punches, the two seeming to be about evenly matched overall. The huge Pokémon was glowing with amethyst-colored energy and Master Tseng was on the ground a little ways away from the fighting, the man slightly disheveled and sitting upright with his head turned in the direction of the noises as Reishi attempted to safeguard his friend, the golden Lucario glowing with his own blue aura as he steadfastly planted himself between the bizarrely large bearlike Pokémon and Tseng.

Jessie sprinted to Tseng, helping him up to his feet as her trio of Pokémon arrived on the scene, Jessie trying to move the older man out of harm's way and deciding that she didn't want to risk having Striker, who was more trained for the physical side of things, wading into the milieu. "Fang! Let's weaken that thing! Hit it with a Toxic!" Fang reared up at Jessie's command to perform one of his most highly practiced and used moves, his body swaying back and forth for a few moments as he lined up his shot so he didn't hit Reishi in the process, loosing viscous, dark purple liquid from his mouth in a stream that hit the Bewear from several yards away and coated the other Pokémon with a thick, sticky concoction of highly virulent, concentrated poison. The Bewear stopped and tried to rub the poison off after Reishi leapt backwards so he didn't get hit by the stuff himself, and Jessie was hoping that Reishi knew a few non-physical moves so he wouldn't touch the poison before it had a chance to fully soak into the phantasmal but somehow still all too real Bewear, then Tseng firmly spoke up.

"Reishi, let us end this while it's distracted! _Aura Sphere_!" As soon as the words left Tseng's lips Jessie noticed Reishi's blue glow decreasing while something began to form in the Lucario's paws, the blue energy that had been surrounding Reishi seeming to now flow into his paws and coalesce between them, a large ball of blue light forming as the Bewear began a ponderous, lumbering charge at Reishi to close the distance between them, flailing its arms wildly and moving back and forth. Reishi loosed the blue sphere with a loud cry and the energy started homing in on the Bewear, following the other Pokémon's movements unerringly before the sphere found its target and smashed into the Bewear with a loud booming noise, the Bewear sent flying backwards forcefully with a loud cry of pain. The false world around them abruptly started to shimmer and crack after the Bewear hit what looked like some kind of barrier as it was flung back by the impact, the illusion crumbling around them as if a mirror was shattering and falling all around the group, the Master's Chamber- and therefore reality- reappearing as the phantasmal shards of illusion fell to the ground and vanished.

 _I don't think I've_ ever _been so happy to see the Master's Chamber_. "Is everyone alright?" Jessie started looking around for hints as to where the kid and Zoroark had gone almost right after asking the question, because just as she'd predicted both were now absent, the Zoroark using the illusions as a cover for them to slip away. The only advantage Jessie knew she had was that the Children's headquarters was deliberately twisting and maze-like to help repel and discourage curious outsiders that somehow managed to find their way inside, so maybe there was still a chance.

She felt Tseng release his grip on her shoulder as he re-oriented himself, the familiar scents of the chamber filling the older man's nose and causing him to visibly relax as he realized that their ordeal was over. "I'm fine, thanks to you, your friends and Reishi, Sol. But what happened? I know Reishi was fighting something to protect me and you showed up to assist, but it felt like we were _definitely_ someplace else for a while..." Tseng wore a worried frown as he turned in Jessie's direction.

Jessie raised her brows toward Reishi, who nodded to her, apparently deciding to let her take the lead. "Well...there were actually two things inside that Pokéball, Master Tseng. A young-looking boy and a Zorua that turned out to be a Zoroark. The Zoroark trapped us in an illusion, which we just broke out of and was why it seemed like we were somewhere else, and now they're both gone. Hopefully they won't be able to find any of the exits before we can catch up with them."

The older man took this in, frowning deeply. "A _boy_? How can that be?"

"I wish I knew, Master Tseng, but maybe we can find that answer together with the others after we track them down. We can only hope that they're still trying to find their way out since they'll be unfamiliar with our home." Jessie then picked up the strange black Pokéball from where it had hit the floor after releasing the boy and Zoroark earlier and tucked it into one of her pockets. _This may come in handy, though I hope we won't have to use it._

* * *

He and Noire had to get away. They _had_ to! This was the first time in a _long_ time they'd been out of the dreaded ball, and they might not have another chance of escape anytime soon.

Desperately tugging at the thick collar that prevented him from using his abilities to try and remove it so he could hide better without having to wholly rely on Noire, the young boy fled through the underground tunnels, Noire at his side and growling lowly in her throat as they hastily made their way. _Wait...isn't that the same big root in the wall that we just passed a little bit ago? I think we're getting lost...or_ are _we?_ "[Um, didn't we just run by that?]" he inquired of his friend with an inward groan while pointing at the large root before Noire briefly paused and glanced around.

"[Yes, we did. And _now_ I'm pretty sure this place is a maze of some form,]" Noire replied, the Zoroark's eyes narrowing as she studied the earthen space around them and took in its scents. Yep, it was _definitely_ the same room they'd just fled through recently. "[We should probably hide for now and wait for them to stop searching for us, then we can figure this place out and leave when it's safer.]" She gestured to a group of large earthen storage pots tucked into a carved out circular storage area, the pair ducking behind them. Noire tried to get the boy's collar off after she felt they were well-hidden enough, scratching ineffectually at it with her claws before running footsteps headed their way, Noire gently grabbing the boy's arm and turning them both into exactly similar earthen pots in a flash of amethyst just before two Pokémon entered the room. A Cherubi and Emolga wandered right up to the pots, the Emolga wearing a greedy expression and the Cherubi a worried one.

"[They keep the Poké Puffs in one of these jars, and I smelled chocolate earlier in the kitchen so they're probably fresh!]" began the female-sounding Emolga rapturously, eyes shining as she studied the pots. "[Just imagine, _all the chocolate Poké Puffs we can eat_! No having to share them either!]"

The Cherubi frowned. "[They're _supposed_ to be for all of us though, Spark! Is it _really_ okay for us to be eating any of them without the others?]" There was a distinct undercurrent of worry in the also female-sounding Cherubi's tone.

"[ _Hey_ , if it wasn't then they wouldn't have told us and shown us where they were, right Sakura? _Right_.]" Spark smirked before springing up onto the first of the pots and pulling the lid off. "[Nope, not that one, that's the purple stuff that helps us,]" she muttered as she spied a few spray containers of Potions in the urn, placing the lid back on and hop-gliding over to the next container, her nose wrinkling as Spark landed on top of it. "[Huh...this one smells kinda weird, do you smell that?]"

Sakura gave Spark a 'Seriously?' look from her spot down on the dirt floor. "[I don't _have_ a nose, but I'll take your word for it.]"

"[Oh, right.]" Spark began to try and take the lid off, realizing that she couldn't and growing puzzled. "[Wow, this one is _really_ closed tight!]" A few pieces of short brown hair were then suddenly in Spark's grip, accompanied by a loud "OW!" from the pot she'd been attempting to raid.

Spark half-screamed "[HOLY ZEKROM THE POTS ARE ALIVE!]" as she leapt down from her perch and hid behind Sakura, a strange black-clad boy appearing in place of the pot in a shimmer of purple energy before he just as quickly became a pot again after another pot bumped into him. "[Wait... _WHAT_? Did you SEE that just now?!]"

"[Were those Berries we had this morning bad or something?]" Sakura brought her leaf down over her eyes to rub them in disbelief. "[I could swear that was a Holder sitting there just now...]"

Spark blinked. "[Holder? You mean the twolegs? But yeah, there was _definitely_ one. At least, I don't _think_ we're _both_ hopped up on old Berries and seeing things...]" Spark slowly wandered closer to her former perch, intently sniffing the area around the pots as Jessie, Striker and Fang intently entered the room at a brisk pace, Jessie having left Luna and her healing capabilities behind to tend to Reishi and Master Tseng.

"Hey Spark, hey Sakura," Jessie offered the pair a smile as she looked around while Striker and Fang started looking around the room. "You two haven't seen a human and a Zoroark run through here, have you? Maybe a _few_ times by now because they're probably lost in our tunnels?"

"[Sounds like they're looking for that Holder.]" Sakura gestured towards the pots by stretching her vestigial berry as Spark shrugged.

"[Are we really sure we actually _saw_ a twolegs, though? I mean, it sure _looked_ like one was right in front of us for a second, but...]" Spark still wandered in and around the pots, highly baffled. A soft, but threatening growl emanated from one of the pots as she continued her investigation, causing Spark to flee back towards Sakura with all of her fur standing on end and her tail sticking straight up, catching Jessie's attention.

"Everything alright there, Spark?" Jessie tapped her foot twice to signal Fang and Striker, gesturing towards the entrance and exit on each side of the room to have them blocked. _They're somewhere in this room, aren't they?_ Something _sure just spooked Spark good. The problem will be figuring out where- or should I say as_ what _or_ who _, because they're probably disguised._ The Johtoan figured out the direction Spark had fled from, realizing that the Emolga had shot out from the storage pots, and she also hadn't failed to notice Sakura pointing in that same direction earlier. Jessie went to go sit by the pots as Spark and Sakura gave her incredulous looks before hastily exiting the room, Fang and Striker letting them pass to head back to their friend, Pathwalker Zephyr. _Let's see if I can convince them to come out peacefully._ She decided to start with Common and see where things went. "I know you two are in this room somewhere. You're worried about having to go back into this thing, right?" Jessie held up the still open black Pokéball loosely by its top before she closed it, hit the button to minimize its size and tossed the strange Pokéball as far as she could away from her, the ball striking the ground with a dull thud and rolling to a stop somewhere down the hallway that Striker was sitting in front of. "I'd just really like to talk to you both. I _promise_ neither of you will be hurt or have to go into that ball. My only request is no more illusions, please."

Jessie heard nothing but her breathing for a few long minutes, and she'd just about given up hope, deciding that perhaps the boy didn't know Common after all when finally two of the pots flickered that by now familiar purple out of the corner of her eye, the Zoroark and boy sitting by each other and studying Jessie as the illusions dropped. She didn't dare to move or get up for fear of spooking them, but she felt a sense of relief, speaking softly and carefully measuring her words to be as soothing as possible. "Hello there. What might your names be? I'm Pathwalker Sol, though either Sol or Gina is just fine."

"I don't know mine," replied the boy in stilted, halting Common that seemed _so_ rusty that Jessie suspected he either hadn't spoken Common in _quite_ a while or wasn't fully fluent. He then gestured to the Zoroark by him with a small smile. "This is Noire. She's my friend." The Zoroark was clearly wary and regarded Jessie with a somewhat tense expression, though at least Jessie wasn't getting openly hostile vibes like earlier.

 _Wow, the poor kid doesn't even have a name?_ Jessie found herself deeply saddened by this for some reason, even though it somehow didn't surprise her with _them_ being involved before she noticed the boy staring down at his clothing as best he could with the thick metal collar blocking a good deal of his neck movement, Jessie opening her mouth to suggest that they come up with something together when another ghost of a smile quickly danced across his mouth before he looked up at Jessie.

"Um, how about we call me Black?"


	7. Licensing Exam, Part 1

Back to the A plot now that the B plot said hi for a bit! :)

* * *

"Wow! I mean, we have a couple Training Centers on the Islands, but...that's HUGE!" Tracey's eyes were wide with awe as he took in the shining, brightly lit and well maintained large two-story green and white building the group was heading towards after their arrival in Pewter City. It was sitting proudly next to a somehow even _bigger_ two-story purple building that was apparently a museum named, appropriately enough, the Pewter Museum of Science according to Tracey's tourist guide. The quartet of James, Tracey, Gary and Ash had arrived early that morning after a hearty breakfast thanks to Delia and a long trip on foot, leaving before daybreak with Growlie and Aria walking along on either side of the group to both help them navigate through the pitch black, maze-like Viridian Forest with the assistance of Aria's echolocation _and_ as a deterrent to any would-be thieves potentially lurking. James had hoped the combination of the rather intimidating-looking Growlie and making the trip at such an odd hour would prevent any issues with the various roving bands of lawbreakers that seemed to infest Kanto like a bad case of fleas, and his plan worked.

It had been just over three weeks since Pikachu and Eevee unexpectedly entered Ash and Gary's lives along with Tracey and James, the latter pair alternating between crashing on the couch (in James' case) and the floor of either Ash or Gary's bedroom (in Tracey's case) at Delia's and Samuel's in exchange for buying food and helping with various chores, and Ash now felt (mostly) confident attempting what was officially known as the Indigo-Silver Joint League Trainer Licensing Exam. Tracey and Gary's assistance with hitting the books had definitely helped a lot, along with James showing Ash a few things hands-on, like how Pokéballs and some various Potions and other items worked and what their various effects were through James letting Ash examine and in some cases actually use a few of his cheaper supplies. James also had his Pokémon team conduct some mock battles so Ash could get a feel for the battling portion of the exam and what it would likely entail, the Pokémon always either deliberately missing or greatly holding back during their attacks though Ash could still at least get a general idea.

James' Pokémon had been patient with Ash as the young Kantonian quickly learned that actually _being_ there, right in the thick of battle working alongside his Pokémon partner and trying to formulate tactics on the fly was a _whole_ different world from watching the spars on television, James' team trying to encourage Ash as he learned the broad strokes of battle strategy up close and personal. Ash also knew that they were only listening to him because James had asked them to, and Ash could only hope he'd have that kind of closeness with his own Pokémon as time went on, though he'd _also_ always consider Pikachu and Eevee just as much Gary's as his- _if_ Ash passed the exam and was able to get his Trainer's License and register them both, that was. Nurse Joy had finally given the green light for Eevee and Pikachu to leave her Center two days ago, and Ash wasn't going to let her _or_ all his friends down- _or_ Viridian's Officer Jenny, who had deliberately put off the paperwork reporting stray Pokémon to the League to buy Gary and Ash some time to get a license and get them registered.

"Ash, Gary, has either of you ever been in a Training Center before?" James asked brightly as they finished approaching the Center, the half-asleep Meowth uncurling himself from around James' shoulders and hopping to the ground with a wide yawn after they reached the safety of the Training Center's doors. James wasn't surprised to get a head shake and muttered 'Nope' respectively in response- if you weren't a trainer, you generally didn't have a reason to step into a Training Center, unless you were taking your Licensing Exam for whichever license you'd decided to pursue. Two female green-jacketed Pokémon League guards wearing black attack-proof vests were posted on either side of the automatic doors, a Mightyena sitting on its haunches eyeing the group with rapt attention by the heels of the left guard. James offered both guards a polite smile. "Hello there! Ash Ketchum is here for his Licensing Exam appointment. I'm his guardian, James, and these are his friends Gary and Tracey."

After the right-side guard consulted a clipboard and James and Tracey both proffered their Pokémon licenses for inspection, the group was waved through with friendly smiles from both guards, a cheerful "Good luck!" and "Best of luck!" both being offered to Ash as they entered into the building. The soft whooshing sound of the doors closing behind them was almost instantly overwritten by the quietly echoing sounds of Pokémon battling and crowd noise from various matches being displayed on several big screen TVs dotting the walls of what seemed to be a currently empty reception area, various green and white chairs, couches and love seats positioned for the best viewing of those televisions. Front and center in the back of the room was a large reception desk that effectively barred the way to the rest of the building with a large sign proclaiming 'WELCOME TO THE PEWTER CITY TRAINING CENTER' hung up behind it and an older, grey-haired woman wearing a green suit with her white hair in a bun who radiated commanding authority sitting behind the desk. Her face broke into a wide smile as the group approached.

"Aha! Our seven A.M. Mister Ketchum I presume? Right on time!" She hopped down off of her seat and walked around to the group with an efficient, crisp stride, her words carrying just the barest hint of a Kalosian accent within them. "Welcome! I'm Suzanne Proctor with the Licensing and Training Commission, though Miss Proctor is just fine. I'll be administering and grading the written portion of your exam." She eyed Gary, Ash and Tracey and laughed gently. "Er, which one of you _is_ Mister Ketchum?" After Ash raised his hand sheepishly, the woman's decisive presence making him more than a bit nervous in spite of her friendliness, she nodded. "The rest of you, feel free to make yourselves at home in the lounge here- there's a bell on the desk you can ring and someone will come if you need anything. We also have both a Poké Mart and Pokémon Center just down the road if either is needed." She then gestured crisply to the televisions, pointing at them. "We've got The Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's championship series, on the biggest screen there in the middle, and for something a little closer to home we have the Tohjo Grand Invitational on a few screens as well." She then smiled at Ash. "And now if you'll follow me please, Mister Ketchum, we'll get underway."

"You can do it!" Tracey gave Ash a gentle clap on the shoulder.

"Yeah. You got this, Ash! Go get 'em." Gary gave him a thumbs up and grin, Ash beaming at them both.

James also nodded and smiled encouragingly. "Take your time. Don't rush yourself, and you'll have it in the bag."

His head happily swimming with confidence while his stomach clenched with more than a little worry- _what if I mess this up? -_ Ash followed Suzanne up a set of wide white stairs, passing creamy white walls dotted with pictures of various Pokémon, Pokémon League events and famous trainers as they headed upwards. A brass sign screwed into the wall at the landing indicated that the Training Rooms were to the left and Pokémon Selection (Please Be Ready To Present Your License!) was to the right. Ash looked to both sides, trying to see anything and only noticing empty corridors exactly similar to what he'd seen coming up the steps before Suzanne gestured Ash directly ahead to a third, smaller hallway and pulled a door open. "Right in here. I'll need to have you remove your jacket and leave it on the hook here please, and if you have a Pokénav or similar I'll need you to give it to me so it can be locked up until you're done."

"I don't have a Pokénav." Ash hung up his coat and then found himself entering a small room with a handful of wooden desks and plush green chairs after also turning his pockets inside out at Suzanne's request, all of the desks having a well-worn, thick red and white tome laying on them Ash instantly recognized thanks to hours poring over its pages recently as _The Beginner's Guide to Pokémon Species_ by now-retired Pokémon Professor Cedric Juniper, considered by most a seminal work containing basic information on every currently recognized Pokémon species on the planet. He guessed it was being provided as a tool for the exam, something Ash was actually grateful for, and he noticed as he headed over to take a seat that under _that_ book was a slightly slimmer grey book Ash also remembered titled _Battling_ _Basics,_ an official Pokémon League publication that went over the League's rules for battling and type matchups. Just as Ash fully settled into his seat with a gulp, trying to dispel the Butterfrees flitting around in his stomach, Suzanne cleared her throat to get Ash's attention and pulled out a large, thick manila envelope sealed with the Pokémon League's logo, placing it on the large desk in front of her.

"As you know, Mister Ketchum, you will shortly be undertaking the written portion of the Indigo-Silver Joint League Trainer Licensing Exam. It will contain a mix of multiple choice and essay questions. You may fully utilize both books provided, but no other reference materials. Any discovered use of outside materials will be considered cheating, and you will _immediately_ forfeit the exam and be unable to retake it for a period of three years." Suzanne used a letter opener to slide open the sealed envelope, then examined the test before turning to the computer on her desk and speaking more directly into it. "Proctor, badge 185, verifying at 7:10 KST that the exam was in a completely sealed envelope and fully unmarked before presentation to Mister Ketchum." She then stood up and walked over to Ash, continuing what was obviously a required spiel as she placed the test down on his desk. "An 80 or better is required to be considered a passing mark, which will let you move on to the battling portion of the exam. You'll have two hours starting from when you first put pencil to paper, and any questions left unanswered after that time will automatically be counted as incorrect. If you need a restroom break, please let me know so we can get you a male escort, and there's bottled water and some light snacks available inside of your desk."

After an hour and a half of writing, erasing, rewriting, choosing answers before then erasing and selecting them again, punctuated by the occasional referral to one of the books, one trip to the bathroom and two chocolate almond snack bars along the way, Ash held the test up to indicate he was done. The Butterfree were now storming in his stomach, battering it mercilessly, as his concentration on the test itself broke now that he was finished. Suzanne walked over and collected the test with a smile. "Feel free to stretch your legs and chat with your friends while I get this graded. It usually takes me about half an hour. If you pass, we'll get you into one of our arenas with a battle evaluator right away, so please don't wander _too_ far!" she finished brightly.

"Thanks Miss Proctor! I'm going to wait downstairs." Ash wandered his way back downstairs to the lobby to find Gary, Tracey and James paying rapt attention to the largest television while Meowth was curled up asleep on the sofa, the Kantonian noticing that while Tracey and Gary looked shocked, James looked almost... _angry_ for some reason, a hard glint in his guardian's green eyes and stern expression that Ash had never seen before on James' face as Ash walked over and muttered "What's going on?"

"Some people calling themselves Team Rocket just tried to take over the Lily of the Valley conference!" Gary stated in a tone full of disbelief, eyes still wide, not looking over at Ash as he spoke because his attention was still so focused on the television. "A bunch of 'em marched right out into the middle of all of the stadiums and were using their Pokémon to grab the competitors and their Pokémon to try and kidnap them!"

Ash's eyes widened, his tone about the same as Gary's as he replied. "Whoa, _WHAT_?" The stress over his test now completely forgotten, Ash quickly looked over to the television, noticing the crowd pouring out of the central stadium and outlying stadiums in a panic, a blonde female reporter chatting with the headline 'LILY OF THE VALLEY CONFERENCE NEARLY TAKEN OVER BY CRIMINAL GROUP CALLING THEMSELVES TEAM ROCKET' scrolling across the bottom of the screen.

"Yeah, they had on these black uniforms with big red Rs on the chests," added Tracey quietly, his rapt attention clearly still on the television as well. "The Sinnoh League seems to have stopped them, but it sounds like there's still three trainers and a bunch of Pokémon missing."

Ash didn't even hear his name called by the person currently manning the desk at first about half an hour later, so wrapped up in watching the developing story about Team Rocket with James, Gary and Tracey that the man calling for him wound up having to go over and tap him on the shoulder. "Ash, right?"

After leaping up a bit and being snapped out of watching the TV so closely, Ash let out a breath as he turned to face a man with a blue and white catlike Pokémon standing by him, Ash recognizing it as a male Meowstic after he racked his brain a bit trying to recall the species' name. "Yeah, that's me! Sorry." He stood up a bit sheepishly and offered a nervous laugh.

The sandy-haired man, who looked to be in his twenties, snickered. "You're fine! Pretty crazy stuff out there in Sinnoh, eh?" He then waved a piece of paper. "I'll start out by saying congratulations on passing the written! You got a 90, so now we need to get you into one of our arenas with us!" He grinned widely as Ash broke out into a wide smile and let out a victory whoop. "I'm Derek Valuator, and this is my partner, Claude. We'll be your judges for the battling portion of your exam." Derek gestured to the Meowstic at his side, who gave Ash a smile as well before bowing a bit.

This time after receiving another round of encouragement from Tracey and Gary, James having had to take a phone call, Ash headed back upstairs and was gestured to the right, towards Pokémon Selection. "You'll find that this is pretty different from the written." Derek had a mischievous twinkle in his eye as they approached a small desk neatly labelled 'POKÉMON SELECTION', Claude gracefully hopping up onto the counter as Ash and Derek were greeted with a smile and wave by a green-jacketed older, mustached man manning the counter. Behind the man appeared a vast array of Pokéballs of all varieties, organized neatly into sections: "No Badges', 'Zero to One Badges', 'Two Badges Minimum', 'Three Badges Minimum'- as Ash studied them, he realized the sections ran all the way up to 'Eight Badges REQUIRED, NO EXCEPTIONS' on the far right, that particular section behind thick glass plastered with warnings and also secured with a few various locks.

Derek nodded to the man behind the counter. "Heya, Alan." He then turned his attention to Ash. "I'll give you a quick rundown of how Pokémon Selection works at our Training Centers. As you can see, the Pokémon you can borrow for training from our Centers are dictated by the amount of badges you possess, both for your safety _and_ the safety of your _and_ our Pokémon. Pokémon respond almost directly to your skill as a trainer, and we've historically found that the amount of Badges you have tends to be a fairly reliable indicator of your training skill, and therefore which of our Pokémon will be safe for you to use _or_ fight against." He gestured to the left side of the room behind Alan. "In this case, obviously, you'd be able to choose from either the 'No Badges' or 'Zero to One Badges' sections." Derek grinned. "And _this_ is where the first part of your evaluation comes in. You know Claude is my partner, and you'll be sparring against him. I'll also be asking our resident Squirtle, Bubbles, and our Fennekin, Ember, to help out. Now, knowing that information, I'd like to know which three Pokémon you'll choose for our evaluation match, and please explain your choices."

"Hmm." Ash intently studied the list of Pokémon available that he was then handed by Alan. "Squirtles have a hard shell that helps them stay protected, so I'd want a Pokémon that doesn't have to physically hit Bubbles to do damage. They're also a pure Water-type if I remember right, which would make the weaknesses Electric and Grass." Ash grinned as he spotted that a Pachirisu was available. "I'd choose Deecee, the Pachirisu for my first Pokémon for those reasons. For Ember...hmm." He immediately honed in on a Geodude named Pebble. "I can't imagine a Fennekin being too good at physical fighting, so I'd choose Pebble because Fire-type attacks wouldn't do too much _and_ even if Ember _did_ try to scratch him it wouldn't do much. And for Claude..." Ash tried to recall Psychic-type weaknesses as he scanned the list. There were no Ghost-types or Dark-types, the two he easily remembered, but he _knew_ there was a third... "Bug!" Ash happily exclaimed as he pointed to a Sewaddle named Nibbler. "Nibbler would be my third choice, since Psychic-types are weak to Bug-type attacks."

"All excellent choices with great reasons," replied Derek. "I'd definitely say you passed that part with flying colors." He then nodded to Alan. "Alan, let's get Ash set up with Deecee, Pebble and Nibbler for his evaluation! And I'll need to borrow Bubbles and Ember, please."

"Coming right up!" With a clear amount of practice, the older man expertly navigated through the sea of Pokéballs and plucked three Friend Balls from their slots, two from the 'No Badges' section and the third from 'Zero to One Badges' before holding the currently shrunken Friend Balls out to Ash. "Here you are! Good luck, Ash!" He then grabbed Derek's two requested Pokémon and handed them off to the evaluator.

Ash took the three into his hands, electricity generated by excitement and adrenaline shooting sparks down his spine as he realized he was about to have his first full-out, _real_ Pokémon battle- no Pokémon holding back or trying to miss. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself as he now followed Derek to the right- towards the Training Rooms, towards what he knew would be the most difficult part of getting his Trainer's License.

 _Here goes nothing- no. Here goes_ everything.


	8. Licensing Exam, Part 2

Hope everyone is enjoying! I'd love to hear what people think of the universe so far! I am using RNG rolling/generation for the battles which I hope helps with realism!

* * *

"And here we are!" Derek enthusiastically swung a pair of double doors labelled 'Arena #1- Standard League Configuration' open and held one of them open for Ash and Claude. The Kantonian found himself stepping into a large green-walled room and onto the classic brown clay and white chalk-lined battling arena he'd seen so many times on the television watching League events, bright stadium lighting flooding the room. Ash took in a deep breath to steady his nerves while clutching the three Pokéballs he was holding a bit tighter, the scent of damp, freshly turned earth filling his nose. "We won't have a judge presiding in this case because, well, this time I _am_ the judge," he finished in a lighthearted tone. Claude trailed in behind them and glanced up at Derek, an expectant look on the Meowstic's face before Derek started heading to the north side of the field, Claude at his heels.

 _Wow. I'm_ here _, actually standing in an arena with Pokémon for my first battle._ This whole thing still felt so _unreal_ to Ash, like he was in a dream because he'd never let himself think too much about even _owning_ a Pokémon until this past month, _much_ less actually being a trainer, but Ash shook his head and forced himself to concentrate. This upcoming match was _all too_ real, and his Trainer's License was riding on the outcome. Ash _really_ hoped he wouldn't wind up regretting the choice he'd made to go ahead and pursue a Trainer's License even if Eevee and Pikachu didn't wind up wanting to battle, but he sure wasn't going to give up _now_ , with the written portion already done. He made his way to the marked trainer's spot on the south end, waiting for further directions and studying the Friend Balls, now noticing that each was neatly labelled with the Pokémon's gender, species, nickname and their four most practiced moves.

"This is Badge 310, Derek Valuator, with Ash Ketchum for his battle evaluation. This will be a three on three battle. No items will be allowed, and no switching out is allowed except after a knockout or unable to continue is declared" Derek called out firmly, his tone more formal as the brightly lit arena room echoed with his voice, Ash guessing that everything was being recorded, just like his written test had been, to avoid later accusations of favoritism or cheating. "The first trainer to knock out all three of their opponent's Pokémon will be declared the winner." He then nodded to Claude, who returned the gesture before confidently striding out onto the arena with deliberate, elegant strides and turning to face Ash. "Claude will be going first on my side."

"Then I'll choose Nibbler!" Ash quickly located Nibbler's ball among his three and studied her move list, tucking the other two Friend Balls into his pocket to free his hands up prior to to releasing her. The female Sewaddle made an appearance in a red flash and turned to Ash with a smile prior to slowly crawling out to face Claude, the two Pokémon bowing to each other as they waited and chattering politely. Ash was already planning, aware that Nibbler's lack of speed was going to be something to have to overcome- if Nibbler could get in some decently damaging Bug Bites, she'd be able to take Claude out of the battle fairly quickly, but the key word was _if,_ because Ash _also_ knew that neither Claude _or_ Derek would let Nibbler simply slowly inch up to Claude and bite him repeatedly.

Derek held his hand up authoritatively. "Battle...START!" His hand sliced the air and came down to his side. "Claude! Let's start things off with a Confusion!" The Meowstic's ears ticed a tiny fraction, his eyes quickly flashing a dark purple and purple energy radiating from him afterwards in a circle that hit Nibbler as the wave continued to emit outwards and then vanish, Nibbler knocked back a little by the emitted psychic power.

Ash was relieved when Nibbler seemed to shake it off without any ill effects, the Sewaddle's head turning to him slightly as she waited for his direction. Ash knew Confusion was dangerous, sometimes leaving the Pokémon it was used on disoriented to the point that they would sometimes hurt _themselves_ when trying to attack instead of the opposing Pokémon- precisely, as Ash recalled from one of his _many_ recent study sessions, what had earned the ability its name from Pokémon researchers long ago. Ash waited for Claude to draw a few steps closer before giving his command. "Nibbler, String Shot!"

"Try to avoid that!" came Derek's immediate response, Claude quickly moving to the right, then left in a veering motion in an attempt to confuse Nibbler.

Hoping to root or at least mostly root Claude in place to make things easier on Nibbler, Ash was pleased when he saw the sticky white silk Nibbler quickly spat out in a thin stream connect with Claude in spite of the other Pokémon's attempt to dodge and cover him, both distracting and tangling the Meowstic up a bit. "Great job, Nibbler!" _Claude can still use Confusion, which worries me, but it'll be a_ lot _harder for him to dodge some Bug Bites now._

"Confusion again!" Claude's ears moved and Nibbler was hit by another blast of energy, leaving her leaf drooping a little and her head hanging slightly after she felt its effects before she turned to Ash again. Claude was _also_ now preoccupied trying to free himself, however, and Ash decided to take his chance after thankfully noticing Nibbler had once again avoided Confusion's strange potential aftereffect.

"OK Nibbler! Bug Bite!" The Sewaddle sprang forward onto Claude's head and almost toppled him over in the process, Nibbler's tiny fangs lengthening and glowing with white energy as she delivered several vicious, successive bites to his head and ears, Claude crying out in both annoyance and pain as the highly effective attack assaulted him and disrupted his mental focus. The Meowstic was clearly weakened after the attack, trying to catch his breath and his ears drooping as Claude tried to now remove both Nibbler _and_ her webbing.

"Hang in there! Shake her off, Claude!" Unfortunately, with part of the Meowstic's body still stuck in webbing and Nibbler able to use that same webbing to help maintain her grip on him, Claude struggled fruitlessly, unable to do much physically with his smooth, digitless appendages. He eventually resorted to trying to bite Nibbler when she got part of her body close enough to his mouth. "Get another Confusion off if you can!"

Nibbler steeled herself, closing her eyes and gripping the silk tightly as Claude released psychic energy again, letting out a small yelp of pain since she was in such close proximity to the Meowstic this time, her head wobbling before she shook it in an effort to stay focused. Ash was _not_ about to let that attack get off another time if he and Nibbler could help it. "Nibbler! Quick, give him another Bug Bite!"

"WAAAAAADDLE!" Nibbler let loose another barrage of bites, though this one not quite as intense as her first, and Claude fell to his knees after, eyes closed and panting heavily while the silk still tugged at him. After Claude didn't open his eyes or move for a few moments, the Sewaddle leapt off of him back towards Ash and gestured towards Claude with her head, as if to politely indicate that he seemed spent, Ash not issuing any further orders because he could also tell that the Meowstic looked too exhausted to go on. Derek nodded in agreement and raised his hand to indicate a halt in the battle.

"Claude is unable to continue! You did a great job, Claude, come on back and I'll get you patched up after we're done." Claude and Nibbler nodded respectfully to each other before Claude was returned to a Pokéball Derek had secured with some leather and a strap around his belt loop, Derek giving Ash a grin after. "Nice work, Ash, that was some good thinking on your part using String Shot! Next up will be Bubbles."

"You did awesome, Nibbler, but it's Deecee's turn now. Thanks!" The Sewaddle beamed happily at Ash before she was returned, Ash moving her ball to his left pocket prior to finding Deecee's among his two remaining Pokémon and releasing him. The Pachirisu emitted a light shower of sparks from his cheeks as he carefully groomed his tail, the motions also transferring stored electricity from his cheek pouches to his tail at the same time. His ears ticed softly as Deecee looked at Derek with a roguish grin, waiting for his opponent to materialize while he kept one ear turned back towards Ash.

Derek expanded a Friend Ball. "Alright, Bubbles, that's our cue!" After the Squirtle finished materializing, though, Deecee immediately ran behind Ash and clung to his leg, openly shuddering and letting out a soft squeak. Ash studied the Squirtle, realizing as the hairs stood up on the back of his neck that something was... _wrong_. Bubbles felt and looked distinctly unfriendly as he slowly eyed Ash and the terrified Deecee up and down, a malevolent expression slowly filling the Squirtle's face and his large, flat brown eyes seeming to be devoid of intelligence or warmth. What little was visible of the Squirtle's sclera also appeared an almost a blood red shade. "Bubbles?" Derek tentatively queried as he, too, seemed to sense that something was amiss, worry filling his tone as he quickly aimed the front of Bubble's Friend Ball at the Squirtle. "I'm recalling him and we'll-"

Without any prompting the Squirtle let out a war cry and started charging towards Deecee and Ash, withdrawing into his shell and launching himself after the running start to perform what Ash realized was a Tackle attack. Ash grabbed Deecee and quickly turned his back while tucking the Pachirisu against his chest protectively, Ash's upper back taking the full brunt of the impact, Ash taken to his knees from a combination of the wind getting knocked out of him and the painful, speedy smash of the hard shell against his back. Ash let out a loud gasp trying to catch his breath after and that seemed to rouse Deecee to action, the Pachirisu squirming against Ash's gentle, but firm grip to indicate to let him go.

Ash released him, Deecee wearing a determined expression prior to leaping up and flinging a Thunderbolt attack with his tail at Bubbles, who didn't even seem to feel what _should_ have been a very painful attack for him after it connected though the attack _did_ at least appear to turn the Squirtle's dead-eyed focus in Deecee's direction. Bubbles starting to chase after the Pachirisu, and as he scrambled back up to his feet Ash noticed the recall beam from the Friend Ball Derek was holding seemed to be ineffectual as Derek aimed it, as if Bubbles was either refusing or outright avoiding the beam's pull entirely. The Kantonian didn't even know that was a _thing_ , but this wasn't the time to mull it over. Derek quickly gave up on trying to recall Bubbles and started running towards something red in the wall to his left while Ash decided to continue the distraction if he could. "Another Thunderbolt! Quick!"

"Risu!" As he kited the pursuing Bubbles Deecee leapt up onto the wall for some height, his cheeks sparking before he snapped his tail, another loosed ball of glowing yellow electricity flying towards the Squirtle and shocking him, seeming to result in Bubbles deciding to give up the foot chase due to the Pachirisu's superior speed and aiming a Water Gun at him instead.

Derek pulled on the red object, which turned out to be an embedded phone from the glance Ash got of what the older man was doing before Ash focused his attention back to his bizarre battle. "We've got a Code 10, Water-type!"

"Try and dodge that!" Ash was a mix of worried and puzzled as Deecee dodged the beam of water while clambering all over the wall, Ash determined to stop the Squirtle's rampage. _It_ _'s like Bubbles is a robot or something! He doesn't seem hurt by the Thunderbolts at all, and those should_ really _be doing some damage to him. But I haven't noticed him trying to dodge, either...hmm._ "Zap the next one he aims at you, okay Deecee?" _If Bubbles was normal, this wouldn't work because he'd stop his attack before the electricity gets to him, but I don't think he's_ _normal at all right now._ The Pachirisu nodded his head, cheek pouches sparking and waiting for Bubbles to make his move while his tail fluffed out with stored electricity. As the Squirtle loosed his next Water Gun, Deecee cracked his tail and sent his next Thunderbolt to meet the stream of water, the water becoming electrified and the electricity shooting down the water as it was conducted towards the water's source.

"SQUIRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Bubbles definitely seemed to feel _that_ attack, the Thunderbolt's electricity coursing through him internally as well as externally this time. He broke off the attack and stumbled around a bit in pain, open-mouthed and trying to recover before the arena doors flew open, a commanding voice filling the room.

"Amaryllis, Giga Drain the Squirtle!" Ash turned towards the voice, seeing that it was Alan quickly sizing up the situation, a large, elegant snakelike green Pokémon with long pointed ears, yellow highlights and bright red eyes sliding through the doors in Alan's wake and rapidly gliding up to the man's side. _Wow, it's a Serperior!_ Ash was awestruck at the rare sighting of a Unovan-native Pokémon, his second of the day no less including Nibbler. Intense pulsing, shimmering green energy that was potent enough to make Ash's arm hairs stand on end surrounded the beautiful Pokémon, a large glowing green ball of energy flying swiftly out of its mouth towards Bubbles then back to the Serperior like a yo-yo. Bubbles was immediately taken out by such a powerful, super-effective attack coming from a _much_ stronger Pokémon on top of the Thunderbolts he'd already taken, the Squirtle falling over unconscious with a dull thud. "Is everyone alright? What happened?"

"Thanks for coming so fast. Claude was in no shape to fight and the rest of the Pokémon on us would have had a tough time with a Water-type." Derek shook his head in disbelief, his brow creased with worry. "I'm...not exactly sure, but something was _definitely_ wrong with Bubbles," the evaluator continued with a frown and distressed inflection while he recalled Bubbles now that the Squirtle was in no shape to resist. "Before we even started our match he suddenly started attacking _Ash_ of all things, and I couldn't seem to recall him at all! It was like the beam either wasn't working or Bubbles was somehow able to completely ignore it."

"Yeah, his eyes were weird too, all red around the edges," added Ash with a nod as Deecee scrabbled up to the group on all fours with a look of pride on his face before scrambling up Ash's body and perching on the Kantonian's head, victory gleaming in Deecee's eyes.

Derek turned to Ash. "I have a few calls I have to make and some paperwork to do because of this, so we're going to go ahead and call the evaluation done okay? Go ahead and go with Alan to turn the Pokémon back in, and Suzanne will let you know. For now, please don't mention this to anyone until I run it by the League, okay?"

Ash walked back downstairs after turning in his three loaner Pokémon back to Alan, Deecee not wanting to leave him but eventually coaxed back into his ball. Ash was still somewhat shaken by what had happened, and that feeling was mixed with the hope that he'd still done well enough to get his license in spite of the bizarre occurrence interrupting things. _What WAS going on, though? It was like Bubbles couldn't think or feel...he wasn't even_ dodging _at all or trying to, just all-out attacking._ Ash had watched a few more aggressive trainers in matches, some that even prided themselves on their forceful, in-your-face style of battling, and even _they_ had the smarts to know when to go on the defensive or try and dodge an attack. "Hey, guys!"

"Welcome back! I suppose we're waiting for the results now?" James gestured at the table, which was filled with what looked like some sandwiches and takeout. "I ordered us some lunch while we were waiting." Meowth was awake now, helping himself to a tuna sandwich contentedly, and Gary and Tracey were both tucking in as well.

Ash nodded as he gratefully put together a large sandwich, deciding that while those bars he'd had earlier were good, they weren't going to hold him for the trip back home. "Yeah. I just hope I did well enough. I couldn't really tell either way how Derek was feeling when we were done." That wasn't a lie at all, but Ash hoped that none of the other three would press the matter too much because he didn't want to be forced _to_ lie.

"You did fine, I'm sure," Tracey grinned between bites. "I mean, I'm not sure if winning the match is a requirement or anything since I never did it, but." He shrugged, Gary nodding in agreement as he polished off his own sandwich.

"Yeah, I don't think you _have_ to win if you're worried because you didn't. Gramps always made it sound like it's all about your battle strategy and how you work with the Pokémon more than anything, not so much whether you win the battle itself or not."

Ash fidgeted, full of nervous energy and the secret wanting to pop out of him as he started avidly eating. "I hope so."


	9. Promises to Keep

"Something similar to what happened in Sinnoh just occurred here in Kanto." Alan's tone was no-nonsense as he and Derek spoke to the Global Pokémon League representative, a woman named Camille that Alan had spoken to before though never met in person. "We almost had a kid taking his licensing exam get _seriously_ hurt by a Squirtle gone rogue. Luckily he chose wisely for which Pokémon to counter a Squirtle with, and I had a well-trained and very experienced Grass-type at my disposal after our examiner called for help." Alan frowned as his hand went to his waist and ran over Amaryllis's well-worn, nicked up Ultra Ball. "But this wasn't _just_ a disobedient Pokémon that got out of hand, your normal Code 10. We re-watched the footage before calling- the Squirtle started battling without _any_ kind of command from our evaluator, and was attacking the _kid_ at first before the Pachirisu he was borrowing for the exam stepped in and distracted it."

"Then i' _is_ like wha' happened in Sinnoh last month," Camille replied with a sigh, Common laced with the woman's thick Hoennite accent filling Alan's small office. "N' wonder y' called, an', I'm glad y' did. 'Course, in _that_ case it was a hotel durin' a tournament, but 'ow the Pokémon was actin' sounds exactly the same- attackin' trainers, ignorin' recall somehow, fightin' like i' couldn't feel pain a' all. Took th' trainer _an'_ three other competitors workin' together t' knock tha' Charizard out."

"I've asked the child involved to keep quiet about this until the League lets us know how to handle it, and we're also looking into what may have caused it," added Derek. "The only thing we can think of out of the norm is that last week Bubbles, the Squirtle involved, got banged up during a training session to the point that we wanted to heal him up a bit before we got him down to our Pokémon Center, so a potion was used. And he hadn't been out of his Pokéball again until this evaluation today."

"Wait jus' a second...what _grade_ a' potion?" It sounded like Camille was furiously flipping through papers. "May b' important."

"Uh, we just have Max Potions and Full Restores usually. Makes it easy to just grab and go and get a Pokémon's wounds stabilized in a hurry, or get burns and stuff like that taken care of." Alan scratched his mustache in thought. "I'm pretty sure it would have been a Max Potion, because if I remember right Bubbles wasn't burned or confused or anything at the time, he just needed some healing."

Camille's voice betrayed what seemed to be a discovery on her end, her tone filled with interest " _Really_ now? Would y' mind terribly checkin' which company those Max Potions y' have are from? 'Cause funny enough, th' trainer in Sinnoh said durin' the inquiry 'e used a Max Potion jus' before 'is Charizard went off th' deep end. Tha' particular tourney allowed healin' up between rounds as long as th' stuff was brought in with th' trainers 'fore the event started, sorta like an Elite Four challenge."

"Give me a minute to check our supplies." Alan started rooting around in his supply cabinet as a knock came on the door, Derek answering to find Suzanne on the other side with a puzzled expression on her face, Derek motioning that he was stepping out into the hallway to Alan and shutting the door behind him.

Suzanne raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong? It's been almost an hour since you took Ash for his evaluation."

"Oh! Right, sorry, something happened that I'm sure you'll find out about at some point soon. Um, Ash _definitely_ passed and then some," Derek began with a laugh that Suzanne noticed was more than a little nervous before his tone grew more warm and confident. "He chose great Pokémon to counter my three with good reasoning for making those choices, and his grasp of battle strategy is fairly solid for a new trainer. Even more so, though, he treated the Pokémon incredibly well, which I know counts more for you and I than anything else. I have to get back to this conference call, but give him the good news! Oh yeah, and there's one _more_ thing..."

Meanwhile downstairs, Ash fidgeted with pent-up energy that he had no real outlet for, watching the TVs without really watching them and waiting on pins and needles to see if he'd managed to get his Trainer's License. He was grateful for the lunch that the group had shared, but it was currently sitting in his stomach heavily as Ash found his eyes wandering to the reception desk over and over again, waiting for Suzanne Proctor to appear with news that would either change his life forever or mean a return to what he'd known before, likely permanently. Professor Oak had had to pay in advance for the exam as per League rules, after all, and the older man had only possessed the funds for this single attempt.

" _Man_ , are they having to go over the battle frame by frame or something? This is taking _forever_." Gary, too, eyeballed the empty reception desk, though more balefully than Ash.

Ash realized that due to the strange event with Bubbles, the Training Center staffers might very well be forced to carefully look over the tapes, but he kept silent about that part of it like Derek had asked, nodding with a sigh. "It _is_ taking a long time. I hope that doesn't mean bad news."

"Well, I _can_ say this. Usually if someone's failed, they let them know almost immediately. I've seen it a few times in the course of my travels." James tried to keep his tone positive, Meowth looking distinctly bored while he lay stretched out on the floor with a dull stare affixed to the glowing screens. Of course, Meowth was _really_ keenly watching the news for any new developments on this false Team Rocket that their boss had a suspicion was Project Unity trying to set them up because they took exception to Team Rocket's meddling in their affairs, and he and James had been informed that the boss already had some of their members in Sinnoh digging into the event.

Tracey yawned, lunch having made him rather sleepy, before he caught sight of Suzanne finally making an appearance, the woman carrying a a small wrapped white package, a black leather zippered case and a large canvas bag that looked to be quite filled. "Hey! There she is!"

"Come right up, Mister Ketchum. Our apologies that it took so long!" Suzanne called cheerfully, the group heading over to the desk with Ash in the lead. "As is tradition, I will begin with this." She cleared her throat before smiling broadly. "The Global Pokémon League would like to extend its congratulations to the newest Pokémon Trainer joining the ranks of the Indigo-Silver Joint League, Ash Ketchum!"

Ash felt a Wailord suddenly lift off his shoulders at the news that he'd done it, _really_ done it, leaping into the air as high as he could and letting out an ecstatic yell that Gary and Tracey also joined in, victory whoops and cheers filling the Center for a bit while Suzanne smiled widely and James grinned. "ALL RIGHT!"

Suzanne then slid the small, white-wrapped box towards Ash. "This is the Pokénav registered to you, provided by the Global League to all trainers for both your safety and making things easier while travelling. It combines the functions of a Pokédex, cellphone and GPS. It will _also_ sync up with your registered Pokéballs to give you up to date statuses on your Pokémon team and will also notify you when it recommends a visit to a Pokémon Center. It also contains a digital copy of your Trainer's License and your Pokémon's registrations." Ash eagerly unwrapped the box with slightly shaking hands, opening it to reveal a sleek red device that looked identical to James' yellow one. After he powered it on, he slid it into his vest pocket before she presented him with a small black leather case. "This is your Badge Holder. There are sixteen total Pokémon Gyms across Kanto and Johto that are officially recognized by the Indigo-Silver Joint League as part of its League Challenge, and there are spots in your holder for every one of those gym's Badges as well as some slots for some of the unofficial gyms working on accreditation." She continued her explanation as Ash unzipped and examined the Badge Holder. "Any combination of eight different recognized Badges is enough to qualify you to participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference for a chance to earn the right to challenge the Elite Four. Earning all sixteen badges grants you the ability to bypass the Conference and directly challenge the Elite Four, something unique to the Joint League due to the sheer number of Gyms that are a part of it."

Ash soaked up the information as his head still swam with victory and giddiness, the Kantonian then growing curious about the canvas bag. Suzanne seemed to sense his upcoming question, the woman tapping the bag. "This is a little something I like to personally do for all new trainers along with Derek- it's our own tradition. We call it the 'new trainer goody bag'- it's some of the most common supplies trainers wind up needing, like Potions and things to heal status effects." Ash gratefully slung the bag of supplies over his shoulder, finding it heavy but not overly so. "And now that that's out of the way, we need to get your Pokémon registered!"

"Oh! Right. Um, I have an Eevee and Pikachu, they're both down at the Viridian Pokémon Center. Is there any way you can call the Nurse Joy there and get their information?"

Suzanne had an almost mischievous look about her as she studied Ash, the older woman's voice full of a wide grin. "Are you _certain_ that's all of your Pokémon we'll need to get registered today?"

Ash stared openly, not sure where this was going and his response sounding more like another question than a response. "Yeah?"

The older woman cleared her throat. "I might, _ahem_ , check that goody bag a little more closely if I were you, Mister Ketchum."

 _Huh?_ Very confused, Ash removed the bag from his shoulder and placed it on the ground, rooting through it until he discovered a familiar-looking Friend Ball- Deecee's. "Whoa, what's Deecee's ball doing in here?! I know I turned all the Pokémon back in!" Ash was totally panicked, wondering if he was being framed for theft or something as his heart hammered in his chest.

"It seems that Deecee was _incredibly_ insistent on accompanying you according to Derek, Mister Ketchum," replied Suzanne with a smile. "You must have made quite an impression on Derek _and_ Deecee both during your evaluation. Derek's agreed to pay the registration fees already and gotten special permission from the League, if you'd like to register Deecee to yourself. It sounds like you have an Electric-type already, and I confess this _is_ more than a bit unorthodox, but it's up to you."

Ash was absolutely torn. On one hand, Deecee had actually _chosen_ him, which Ash felt was an honor and a _really_ big deal, and he also didn't want to waste Derek's time and efforts. On the _other_ hand, Ash only had six registration slots and two Electric-types, especially _pure_ Electric-types, might prove to be a detriment if he slowly worked towards an actual team over time. On the _third_ hand, he _still_ wasn't sure if either Eevee _or_ Pikachu actually wanted to participate in battles, the decision to pursue a Trainer's License made mostly because Ash had decided that _if_ he was going to pursue a license, he wanted to go all out and go after the Trainer's License after talking it over with Professor Oak, his mom and Tracey and Gary. Sure he, Gary and Tracey had hiked with James up to Viridian City several times to pay the pair visits while they were recuperating under Nurse Joy's skilled supervision, but they'd wanted Pikachu and Eevee to focus on resting and getting healthy, so Ash hadn't even attempted to _try_ and communicate the question to Eevee and Pikachu yet. The storm in his mind must have been reflected in his eyes, Ash realized, Tracey brightening and snapping his fingers after studying his friend's thoughtful, somewhat morose expression.

"Hey, I have an idea! How about this? We can register Deecee to _me_ if he's okay with it. I still have two slots on my license and I don't have to worry about what types they are or anything like you'll need to. We can always get him moved to your license later if you want, but that will leave you more room if you need it, right?"

Ash let out a relieved breath as he turned to Tracey, glad that Tracey had come up with the idea and hopefully solved his dilemma for him. "Oh man, that would be _great_! Thanks a ton, Tracey! Let's see if Deecee agrees." Ash released Deecee, who was absolutely thrilled to see Ash again, the Pachirisu letting out an excited squeak as he leapt into Ash's arms. "Hey Deecee! I'd _really_ love to take you with us, but would it be okay if you stay with my friend Tracey?" Ash turned towards Tracey, Deecee seeming to understand the question and studying the Orange Islander closely before making a flying leap into Tracey's arms, giving Ash an approving nod as he perched himself on Tracey's head triumphantly, seeming to glow with happiness.

 _Well, I can_ definitely _see why Deecee wanted to go with them._ Suzanne couldn't keep the happiness she was feeling out of her tone. "Alright! Let's get Deecee registered to you, Tracey, and then I'll call down to Viridian for Eevee and Pikachu's information."

* * *

Back in Pallet Town, Delia had just received the good news via a call from James that Ash had succeeded and gotten his license, the Training Center currently in the process of registering his Pokémon to him. Delia's heart was full of joy for her son even as she knew she _now_ had something she had to do- a promise from five years ago that she needed to keep.

She had a letter to write.

Delia made a cup of coffee and managed to finally locate her book of stamps and envelopes after a good ten minutes of searching, mulling over how to begin for a minute or so before sitting down at her kitchen table and putting pen to paper:

 _I hope this finds you well._

 _You mentioned when we met five years ago to write you if your half-brother ever got any Pokémon friends._

 _Well, through an incredible set of circumstances, his and his friend's hard work and my neighbor's amazing generosity, that time has come. He even got a full-fledged Trainer's License, and he's planning on taking on the Gym Challenge here to start with- we've already gotten his Trainer Distance Education paperwork filed with his school._

 _I'm so proud of him!_

 _His first two Pokémon (yes, TWO believe it or not!) seem like an interesting pair: One's apparently a sweet, but cheeky little rascal and the other's very gentle and kind from what he tells me. He's going to decide on nicknames for them later, as he gets to know them both, though I strongly suspect my other son will be nicknaming one of them._ _The whole story would take several pages, but if you ever find yourself down this way sometime I can give you all the details. You know where to find me, and I hope you know that your open invitation is, well, always open if you decide it's safe._

 _I can't tell you that I'm not worried about him leaving on what will probably be a long trip, especially after everything you and I discussed that day, but I know he's in the best possible hands with his guardian, who's turned into his Pokémon training mentor as well. He's also travelling with his longtime best friend that I told you about, the one I call my other son, and also a new friend of them both who seems to already fit right in; it's like the three of them have known each other forever already._

 _As you asked, for his protection I still haven't told him he has an older brother or about him likely having Aura abilities yet, but he's getting old enough that it may be nearing time for that conversation. Didn't you mention you were about eleven or twelve when your abilities started to really manifest themselves? Well, he turned ten two months ago so that time is rapidly approaching._ _Wow, I just realized that would make you, what, nineteen by now? Time really does fly, doesn't it?_

 _Please let me know what you'd like to do and that you got this letter so I know the address is still right!_

 _I do think it would probably be best if you were part of telling him because quite simply, you can probably explain it all much better than I could ever hope to._

 _Best wishes, and hope to hear from you soon._

She sealed up the letter in an envelope and put three stamps on it before writing out only the address she'd been given at the end of their discussion on it:

 **Verdant Manor, Guest House**

 **Eterna Forest, Route 205**

 **Western Reaches**

 **Sinnoh**


	10. Subjects

_I...am sorry._

Gary sat bolt upright with a yell, covered in sweat and panting for breath. Eevee, who'd been sleeping stretched out belly-up alongside him and sharing Gary's sleeping bag and pillow, startled to consciousness with a defensive snarl before looking around, relaxing slightly after he remembered where he was prior to giving Gary a look that mixed puzzlement and concern. It was the group's final night in Pallet Town before they'd be setting out on the road tomorrow for Ash's League Challenge, and thanks to the early day combined with an impromptu celebration at Pallet House after they'd triumphantly returned to Pallet Town with the new additions of Eevee, Pikachu and Deecee, it had been collectively decided to hit the hay early.

The nightmare of the events that had happened inside the Pokémon Center, so familiar to Gary by this point after six long years of reliving the gruesome memories multiple times a month, had _changed_ for the first time that he could recall. Gary rubbed his head, trying to clear the sheen of sweat while wearing a frown of concentration, attempting to recollect what precisely had differed besides that strange, echoing, gentle male-sounding voice shocking him awake from the images indelibly burned into his memory. "Sorry," Gary quietly muttered to Eevee as he gently stroked the Pokémon's head with a slightly shaking hand, hoping he hadn't woken the others up. Gary was relieved when he glanced over at Ash's bed and he was still dead to the world, Pikachu appearing as little more than a lump of green fabric cuddled up to Ash's chest with only the very end of the Pokémon's jagged yellow tail betraying him by poking out from under the edge of Ash's comforter. Tracey was passed out in a plush adjustable chair they'd dragged in from Delia's living room with a blanket and pillow on Gary's other side, Deecee curled up into a fluffy lump of blue and white on Tracey's chest and Scyther dozing by the far wall sitting upright with his namesakes carefully positioned so as to not hurt anyone or anything.

 _A monstrous Pokémon_. That was what it was, Gary's mind summoning it clearly for him as soon as he'd stopped actively concentrating on it. Something purple and tall and _metallic_ looming over the massacre as the nightmare altered itself, a faceless harbinger of destruction and death surveying the horror inside the Verdanturf Town Pokémon Center as it floated in midair somehow. Of course, this was something his at the time four year old and also _highly_ terrified mind had conjured up...was it even _real_? There was no Pokémon that he knew of that _remotely_ resembled it even if he _was_ viewing it through the hazy lens of panic and old memory, _that_ much Gary was sure of. But what unnerved Gary the most was that he was fairly certain it had been the memory of the creature _apologizing to him_ that had just jolted him out of his restless slumber. Eevee seemed to sense his tension, rubbing against Gary's hand before gently nibbling Gary's pointer finger in a bid to distract the Kantonian out of his thoughts.

Before the images fled his mind, Gary decided to try and draw what he could remember to the best of his ability- maybe they could stop by a library with a good Pokémon research section in the course of their travels. Eevee hopped up onto Gary's shoulder with a yawn after he seemed to realize that everything was okay. As quietly as he could manage Gary borrowed one of Tracey's sketchbooks and colored pencils from Tracey's full-to-bursting backpack, focusing on silver, metallic and purple hues as he began to sketch the creature from his nightmare, Eevee watching from his shoulder with interest. Gary started with the most prominent feature that he remembered, the strange Pokémon's long, thick, muscular dark purple tail and odd, muscular lighter purple bipedal legs that ended in two large, split toes. _It was silver here...and here...and here..._ The soft scratching of pencil against paper filled the crowded bedroom as he continued to work, satisfied with his results after about ten minutes or so- it was about as good as Gary knew his lacking artistic abilities would permit. _Maybe a Steel-type?_ As Gary looked his finished drawing over it sure _seemed_ like it was a Steel-type or an at least partial Steel-type if his memory wasn't playing tricks on him, a good portion of its vaguely humanoid-proportioned, bipedal purple body covered in shining silver.

Gary carefully placed the drawing on the floor by him after turning on the light and studying his work for a few more moments, deciding that he'd ask the much more travelled and worldly James if the older man maybe knew a Pokémon species that resembled it after they got underway on their trip tomorrow. Almost right after he and Eevee settled back to sleep with the light still on, the door softly creaked open, Meowth quietly padding in on all fours and carefully studying Gary's drawing before padding back out to the living room and releasing Khiva from her ball.

"[Hey,]" Meowth began in a whisper, "[Gary's memories seem t' be comin' back. James should b' happy, since we can ask 'em stuff when it seems like a good time an' place.]"

Khiva frowned at the news and nodded before gently tapping Meowth on the forehead, opening a temporary mental link so they could speak silently. _[As you know, I felt a block almost as soon as I met Gary. And unfortunately, I can say with certainty that it was the work of a_ very _powerful Psychic that knew_ exactly _what they were doing. The block was just done so long ago at this point that it's beginning to weaken, so it doesn't surprise me that he may be starting to recall things more fully_ _. I would wager that the block will probably be fully gone within, oh, a month or two, especially with how regular his nightmares seem to be.]_

"So, uh-" Meowth clamped his paws over his mouth. _[Heard him yell in there so I know he had the nightmare again, and he drew some kinda weird-looking armored 'mon I didn't recognize, probably the 'mon that did it to him I'd bet.]_

 _[You didn't recognize it? I'm not sure that I like that.]_ Khiva's eyes narrowed in suspicion. _[I'll keep them asleep if one of them starts to awaken, but let's go in there. I'd very much like to take a look at that drawing, actually.]_ The Grumpig's brow lifted. _[I've eaten the nightmares, of course, so I've seen and tasted them, but they've never contained a Pokémon in them.]_ Khiva had stealthily been trying to Dream Eater the nightmares away when she could once she and James had realized how frequently they occurred for Gary, trying to relieve the young boy's anxiety, and Khiva had found no shortage of dark, churning nightmare energy to partake of. Khiva's hooves tapped softly on the hardwood before they reached the carpeted hallway as she followed Meowth back towards the hallway.

Four questioning sets of eyes greeted Khiva and Meowth as they snuck back into the room.

"[What are you sneaking around for?]" Scyther asked softly, eyeing Khiva and Meowth suspiciously from his spot. Deecee, Eevee and Pikachu, who'd turned around so his head was poking out of Ash's comforter, were all also watching things from where they'd been sleeping, though none had actually moved yet.

Khiva glanced over at Meowth before pointing with her paw at Gary's drawing and muttering quietly. "[I wanted to see that. I've been trying to help Gary with his nightmares, and knowing which of my brothers or sisters of the mind is behind them could help.]"

Eevee's ears drooped as he gave the still sleeping Gary a worried look. "[He woke all of _us_ up, I think...but the humans seem used to it. Neither of them even flinched.]"

"[Yeah, I hope he doesn't do that _all_ the time. Almost zapped my Keeper on accident 'cause I was startled,]" Deecee murmured as Khiva and Meowth entered the room, the Grumpig picking up the drawing and pondering it before she frowned.

"[I almost did too,]" grumbled Pikachu faintly. "[I mean, _so_ far they've been okay to us, so that would have been bad.]"

Khiva shook her head. "[This is not _any_ 'mon that I recognize. Do any of you?]"

One careful, hushed circuit of the drawing around the room later resulted in a round of head shakes punctuated by a "[Looks like some kind of Steel 'mon]" from Scyther. Deciding that they were going to try and get some rest and also not further risk possibly waking up their new two-legged friends, Khiva and Meowth headed back out to the living room wearing serious expressions. _[I don't like this at all. We had Kanto, Sinnoh and Hoenn knowledge amongst us in that room, and none of us knew this 'mon. Maybe we can try asking some of the others tomorrow- I know we have Johto, Kalos and Unova with us as well. Alola may be a bit...harder to come by but not impossible, especially with Ash doing a Competition, which will let us encounter other 'mon more.]_ In the wake of what Pokémon had come to call The Dark Times or The Great Illness, what healthy Pokémon were left after the devastation had quickly become spread around the globe as Pokémon researchers, professors and breeders worked together desperately alongside the Pokémon themselves to help keep the various species genetically diverse and alive, mates sending their eggs to human caretakers and adoptive parents both near and far-flung. Regional dialects were still taught to children after they hatched and clung to almost as points of pride, as well as the folklore, traditions and stories from their original parts of the world that were passed down from parent to child.

 _[Sounds like a plan. For now, I vote we sleep. Can you get yourself back into your ball?]_ Meowth yawned widely, then curled up in front of the fireplace after Khiva's response was a deadpan look followed by her tapping her ball and recalling herself inside.

* * *

"Right. I want to know _everything_ that happened in Shalour."

Erik Dresden was not a patient man when things Did Not Go To Plan, because the vaguely handsome green-haired thirty-year-old Sinnohite then got to turn around and explain Why Things Did Not Go To Plan to _his_ boss, something that Erik tried to avoid at all costs. He could feel himself sweating under his light grey business suit in spite of the chilly early morning air as he adjusted his silver square-framed glasses, staring up at the color-streaked, lightening Kalosian sky he'd very recently arrived under after having lost almost an entire day supersonically hopping across time zones. "Actually, change of plans. I _just_ landed in Kalos at our leader's request to help clean up _your_ Arceus-cursed mess, so let's meet at a café close to Lumiose International and grab a bite to eat, your treat, shall we? I'm sure you'll have an _excellent_ recommendation." He nodded as the name of a café was rattled off. "I pre-cleared _en route_ so customs shouldn't take too long." Erik ended the call without bothering to wait for a reply, impatiently looking around as he entered the airport proper and absolutely, physically _craving_ a cigarette after all the hours in the air.

Half an hour later after the trip through Kalosian customs, and retrieving his luggage followed by a brief trip on foot accompanied by a well-deserved smoke along the way, Eric placed his order and tucked himself into a corner booth in a bustling old, warm café decorated in earthy greens and bright whites named _Délice de Slurpuff._ The place quickly filled to standing room only as coffee, gossip and food were all consumed eagerly while the early morning sun playfully streaked through the windows, the din of mixed Kalosian and Common chatter filling the place and providing a perfect cover for the conversation they were about to have. Erik offered a polite, if feigned, smile to the waitress that brought him his requested _noisette_ and _croissant au jambon et au fromage_ a few minutes later just before he caught sight of his expected arrival, giving the weasely-looking Martin Beaumont an icy stare and nod of acknowledgement that was returned with a wince. Martin placed his order and slid into the booth across from Erik with a sigh and shake of his head, starting in without preamble as Erik worked on his croissant.

"[I _told_ them it was too risky to keep them both together, you _must_ believe me,]" Martin began in almost a pleading tone as he began without preamble in Kalosian, his blue eyes lit with fervor, keeping his noise level well under the general chatter and leaning forward while running a nervous hand through his messy black hair. "[The Orrean was a... _problem_ from the start, like I've been telling the leads _and_ you-]" He immediately stopped when Erik held up his hand.

"[I'm aware of the old reports on Subject Three's behavior and that you reported frequent issues. Just tell me _exactly_ what happened during the breakout, in your words. Leave _nothing_ out.]" He fixed Martin with a steely gaze as he polished off his coffee and leaned forward, almost whispering his next words. "[It took us _quite_ a while to find a suitable Orrean, so you can imagine that Orson is... _displeased,_ and Subject Four is our leader's personal favorite to boot.]" Erik rolled his eyes and waved a hand loosely. "[You know how he is about Fairy-types, and Subject Four is _also_ Kalosian.]"

Martin swallowed nervously and nodded as his own food and coffee arrived, starting in without even looking at the food and drink as he quietly replied. "[Yes, I'm aware.]" He stared at his coffee with a frown. "[Well, we realized that there was a lot of talking going on between them for the past few weeks, more than seemed _prudent_ , shall we say? They put a rookie on guard duty to try and curtail anything they were planning, but well...]" He shut his eyes and opened them again, managing to meet Erik's gaze. "[Three got a hold of the rookie's mind because his supervisor didn't properly warn and outfit him correctly. Three definitely worked straight through the collar's pain while they were escaping.]" He sighed. "[They found the rookie tied up in the control room an hour later, unharmed but completely mind-wiped about the last hour. We also,]" Martin finished with a dark look, "[discovered both of their restraint collars open on the floor and the Pokéballs gone. Security footage shows Three commanding the rookie like a puppet, making him walk right to Four's cell and release Four before also making the rookie remove the collars and hand over the Pokémon. They then... _borrowed_ one of our cars and made their escape after they disguised themselves thanks to Four's help.]" He shook his head. "[The car was found this morning outside of Ambrette Town, but no sign of Three, Four _or_ the Pokémon.]"

Erik's mouth twitched slightly with amusement. "[Sounds like Three, at least, had been practicing and plotting this for _quite_ a while, which comes as no surprise given his past history with us. I'd wager that Four probably helped out and followed the leader, so to speak.]" Erik then sighed and shook his head. "[And _of course_ they'd have taken the Pokémon. Without those Pokémon that they're so attached to and without the collars, we have no hold over either of them.]" He leaned back and tapped his fingers in a rhythm that barely carried in the café, glancing around absently before he leaned back in. "[That leaves us down two of our eight Subjects _including_ one of our more dangerous ones _and_ three Pokémon worth a tidy sum, an Espeon, an Umbreon and a Florges. What do you intend to do about it?]"

Martin sat up as if the words had been a verbal slap, openly staring at Erik in confusion. "[Weren't you sent here to help us search?]"

"[To _help_ , yes, but that doesn't mean I'm going to hold your hand. I'm here for cleanup more than anything, our leader's direct orders. I wouldn't even _be_ here if Four wasn't involved, but our leader _insisted_ , of course.]" Erik shook his head. "[Plus...their combined powers could make them tricky to track down _and_ potentially dangerous.]" He then stood up and spoke louder, deciding to not risk any further conversation since the morning rush crowd was clearing out and the background noise was steadily starting to recede. "[I'm staying at the usual hotel if you need to get a hold of me physically, and I'll have my phone on me at all times.]" He then smartly exited the café, leaving Martin with the bill. Martin groused to himself a bit before paying and leaving a tip and slouching his way out as well.

Neither had noticed a twelve-year-old brunette girl in a red outfit at the next booth who'd been carefully paying _very_ close attention to the pair's deliberately hushed conversation while artfully pretending to be distracted by a lovely breakfast after wandering in behind Martin. She glanced around and pulled out an orange Pokénav, typing two sentences in Common to a long ago memorized number:

 **The 'Subjects' in Kalos have managed to escape. And I think I have a pretty good idea of what exactly THEY're doing and what they're up to, now.**

She smiled as her text was almost immediately replied to:

 **Calling in less than ten.**

Alisse waited impatiently for her phone to ring after she paid for her own breakfast, finally finding a secure enough spot for her liking just as the expected call came through.

"Go." Even though it was sexless and monotone, somehow the voice still managed to comfort the girl.

"After, how you say, overhearing a _very_ interesting talk, I think I know what these 'living bridges' we've been hearing about are." Alice was beaming, her Kalosian accent delicate. "They're _people,_ and I'm pretty sure zat they're people _fused_ or _combined_ with Pokémon somehow."


	11. Anchors Aweigh

"Alright! That's everything all packed for everybody, right?" Delia gave Ash, Gary and Tracey a smile as they finished loading the final items into a small metal trailer attached to James' red five-seater convertible, the small white trailer packed with the boys' and James' clothing and other essentials. They'd be meeting a ferry capable of carrying the car and trailer down to Cinnabar Island, then heading east by the Seafoam Islands and up to the mainland with a planned landing at Fuschia City, the sea trip necessary because there were no car-friendly routes through the thick, twisting Viridian Forest. "You have all of your homework and all that as well to turn in at the Centers as you go, all of you?"

"Yeah, Mom, I think that's everything!" Ash grinned as he loaded one final box of clothes into the small trailer, Pikachu deciding to 'help' by sitting on top of box as he carried it before perching on Ash's shoulder with a satisfied smirk. Ash and Gary had quickly learned that Eevee and Pikachu seemed to be okay with them so far and not aggressive at all, which was very impressive considering what they'd likely been through- unless either was asked to go into their Pokéballs, that was, which thankfully Nurse Joy had warned them about when they'd picked them up. Pikachu would slap his ball away with his tail with an annoyed expression and shake his head in a firm indication that it was Not Happening, with a light warning shock issued if the request was pressed. Eevee, however, would _quite_ literally attack his on sight, snarling and chewing on it, only Meowth and Pikachu's joint intervention calming the small brown and tan Pokémon down. They'd eventually settled on an agreement of 'keep close by and we won't make you stay in your Pokéballs,' this feat accomplished through a rather interesting combination of charades and usage of Tracey's sketching skills by Ash and Gary.

"All my stuff's packed!" Tracey replied with a nod. "Of course, I had it easy- just my one bag," he added with a snicker. "Either of you need help, Ash or Gary?"

"Nope! I'm all done now." Ash grinned as he studied the convertible, excited about getting to be in such a cool car as Meowth settled into the middle backseat. "How about you, Gary?"

"This one's _my_ last box, but thanks," called Gary as he gently shoved the box in with all the others with James' help. The slam of the trailer's rolling back door hitting home was followed by the click of a lock.

"And with that we're officially ready to head out!" James cried out victoriously into the early morning. " _Now_ we get to drive the whole, long way down to the docks and wait for the ferry," he added with a snicker.

"Well, sounds like you're ready to go now. Why don't you guys go say your goodbyes to Samuel?" The three boys and their Pokémon scampered off towards Samuel's house, Delia turning to James and giving him an uncharacteristically serious look before handing him an open envelope, speaking softly. "Please read this some time when the boys are asleep. There's some things that you need to know about Ash since you'll be travelling with him long-term." She nodded her head to the letter. "That's what I remember of Ash's father, and also a conversation I had a few years ago. I'm hoping to hear back again from the same person I had that talk with soon as well. It should fill you in, but again, please look at it when they're all asleep, and keep it to yourself unless..." She sighed and winced. "Well, if _that_ happens, you'll know immediately, and then all bets are off and he'll _have_ to know everything, which is why I want you to be prepared just in case. I'm hoping it won't come to that before I hear back, though." She made a face. "Really, I was hoping to hear back _before_ you guys left, but I should have known inter-regional mail wouldn't be that fast." Delia laughed and shook her head.

James quirked a brow and stared at the envelope. "Well, I'm glad that there's more information waiting for me, because now I'm both very confused _and_ thoroughly intrigued," he replied with a grin before tucking the envelope away, trying to lighten the mood. "But I'm sure it's nothing that can't be worked through if it _does_ come to it. Ah, here the boys come now."

Delia found herself enveloped in a bear hug by her son, smiling broadly as she returned it. "Hey, kiddo. You know I'll miss you! I look forward to hearing all about your trip, though. You better not forget that your Pokénav functions as a phone too, and be on your best behavior for James!" Ash grinned and nodded, breaking the hug before Gary came over and gave her a somewhat less powerful, but no less genuine hug. "You too, Gary- be good and keep up with your homework. I'm counting on you to keep Ash out of trouble!" She laughed as she gently patted Gary's back before ending their hug. "And last but not least, these two can get up to some crazy things, so I'm counting on YOU to be the voice of reason, Tracey!" Tracey laughed and wandered over for his own hug. "Now it looks like the ferry's pulling in, so you guys better load up and get going!" Gary hopped into the passenger seat eagerly since he'd called shotgun the evening before, Eevee hopping onto Gary's lap after Gary secured his buckle, Ash and Tracey settling in with Pikachu on Ash's lap and Deecee stretched across Tracey's shoulders after they buckled their own belts. "Thanks for everything you've done and will do, James. I know that they're in the best of hands with you being their guardian," Delia finished as she fought back tears, the realization finally settling in that they were headed off on their trip.

"It's not a problem at all. I'm very glad that things have worked out so well," replied James with a smile as he settled into the driver's seat and strapped in. Of course, he could never tell Delia exactly _how_ glad he was that he now had a virtually perfect cover and excuse to travel to any of the major cities in Kanto and Johto whenever he needed for his work for Team Rocket, but the boys really _had_ grown on him during the time they'd spent together and he had every intent of being the best guardian he could be. His Pokémon partners had definitely grown fond of the three as well, so that only made things even easier. "You have my number and Ash's, if you're ever worried feel free to call either of us at any time, it's not a bother at all." He turned on the car and pointed them in the direction of the docks. "And now, off to start our journey!"

* * *

"We'd like to hire your boat, please. We saw your chartering advertisement down at the docks."

Marcelle Bisset quirked a salt-and-pepper brow skyward, the veteran sailor studying the odd pair before him with a mix of amusement and puzzlement. They were a pair of boys, young teenagers by the looks of it, a black-haired one wearing black sunglasses and a sandy-haired one with almost golden eyes having some kind of strange, thick steel goggles that didn't look like you could see out of them perched on his head full of spiky hair. The pair also had on identical outfits consisting of a black T-shirt, thick grey jackets tied around their waists and black cargo pants tucked into what looked like charcoal grey combat boots. The black-haired one speaking to Marcelle had loose, chin-length hair and a Santalune accent coloring his Kalosian, which meant he was a good distance from home. The other boy stood silent, his head turning slightly towards the other boy attentively, seeming to try and catch the general gist of the conversation through the other boy's facial expressions.

Marcelle was about to ask where they wanted to go- his beloved _Croc de Gyarados_ and her crew could handle any trip with adequate preparation, Marcelle knew, but he needed her expenses covered- before he noticed that the black-haired boy had a Friend Ball held around his neck thanks to use of carefully looped twine string and the sandy-haired boy had two of them on his own makeshift twine belt. "Let's start with your names and where you're looking to go exactly. I would need to factor in fuel and food for both us and the Pokémon." Marcelle politely nodded at the Friend Balls. The two boys had a whispered conversation in what sounded like Common from the bits Marcelle could manage to pick up though not understand, the sandy-haired one pulling out and opening a folded sheet of paper carefully, studying it before pointing to a spot on it, then giving it to the black-haired boy.

"You can call me Arthur, and my friend is Noah. I'll need to translate for Noah since he doesn't speak Kalosian." The black-haired one who'd just identified himself as Noah then continued by gently placing a folded piece of paper down on Marcelle's small desk and pointing at the logo on it, the glossy paper crinkling slightly. "We need to get to wherever this company is as soon as we can, please. A plane...isn't an option and we're hoping you can help. They don't seem to be based here in Kalos." The older man found himself staring down at a well-creased and worn, splashy-looking advertisement for various Pokémon potions in a foreign language he didn't recognize, though Marcelle _did_ at least immediately recognize the company's very familiar logo emblazoned largely at the bottom of it- a curvy yellow S stylized heavily to resemble an open Pokéball on a black background.

"Ah, that's Silph. They're headquartered in Kanto, though I don't remember which city." Marcelle then glanced between the pair, finding it curious that what seemed like a pair of trainers, or owners of Pokémon at the least, would have no idea of the logo or name of one of the largest companies in the world when it came to Pokémon products, though he wasn't going to pry. "That's a long voyage, probably two months including refueling stops if the seas favor us, and we'd need a few days to prepare everything. If you want to eat well, I would say we're looking at twenty thousand Pokédollars for the both of you and your Pokémon, if this is a one-way trip."

Noah then suddenly seemed to startle, glancing over at the closed door before grabbing onto Arthur's arm, dragging him down and secreting them both under and behind Marcelle's desk before the older man could even ask them what was going on. A pair of women entered his small office a few moments later, the hair on the back of Marcelle's neck standing on end as the two women slowly sauntered in. Deciding that his body's first, instinctual response that had always served him so well on the open sea was the correct one, Marcelle played it cool and didn't reveal the boys' presence. "Good morning! Can I help you ladies?"

"Good morning," replied the first woman coolly, a trim athletic type with close-cropped red hair and bright green eyes dressed in a smart cream jumpsuit. "I'm Lucette, and this is Marie. We're looking for a pair of boys that have wandered away from our orphanage and taken three of our therapy Pokémon with them."

"Yes. They're good boys, if naughty for going off without our permission like that." Marie, a slightly plump blonde with long hair wearing a pair of thick tortoiseshell glasses, yellow turtleneck and brown suit pants, shook her head and laughed. "We think one of them may have heard of family out of the region and is looking to travel to them, so the Ambrette docks seemed like a good place to check. We were trying to make arrangements for them to come see him, but well...he may have gotten a bit _too_ eager, shall we say?" She then produced two photos, Marcelle carefully schooling his face to show no reaction as he looked at pictures of the two boys that were currently huddled under his desk, Arthur's eyes revealed to be a steel grey color. "Their names are Tiros and Steres. They also have an Espeon, Umbreon and Florges with them, though they may be keeping them hidden right now." She then spread out pictures of the three Pokémon in case Marcelle didn't know the species.

"I see. Well, I don't recognize either of them and I can't say I've seen any of those Pokémon around, but I'll keep an eye out for you. I do a lot of private work, so I may well run into them if they're looking for passage out of Kalos. Do you have a phone or contact number?" Marcelle took the card that Marie proffered him and studied it, his unease about the women only increasing as he studied a plain business card with nothing but the woman's name and phone number on it.

"We're _very_ willing to pay the equivalent of registering all three of those Pokémon as a reward if they're returned to us along with the boys, by the way, so it will be worth your while to keep an eye out. You can reach either Marie or I at that number any time. Thank you for your time." As soon as he was certain they were far enough away, Marcelle narrowed his eyes and surreptitiously crumpled the card up in his hand before picking up his phone to make it look like a call had come in, speaking while looking directly ahead in case he was still being observed by the women.

"I don't know what you two are running away from or why you want to go to Kanto and Silph so badly, but you can stay in my yacht while I get the things together for our trip. It has plenty of room for us all including the Pokémon, and if they're going around looking for you and splashing your faces around you both should probably lay low for a while. I'm going to pretend like I'm closing up now and that this phone call took me out for some business- do you have a way of following me without being seen?" Marcelle heard the quiet mumbles of Arthur translating his words, then the soft whoosh of one of his wooden drawers slowly sliding open to his left before the sound of something heavy thudding into its bottom bounced off the walls of his small office. The older man extracted the proffered item and realized that it was a bulging sack of Pokédollars in coin form, more than enough to cover the trip and then some just from the weight and volume alone.

"Go ahead. We'll follow, though you might not be able to tell" replied Arthur quietly before Marcelle 'hung up the phone' and started turning off his lights and locking things up. Neither boy had reappeared, but Marcelle proceeded as he'd indicated, assuming that perhaps the pair had already slipped out the front door and were secreted somewhere waiting for him to emerge. He took his usual route home to his 150-foot yacht that had been outfitted with quite a few creature comforts for clients taking long trips, resisting the temptation to stop by some of his regular vendors and start ordering supplies already because he didn't want to risk those dangerous women potentially putting two and two together if they were still asking around.

Marcelle felt a soft breeze brush by his face after he opened his door and held it open for a moment or two longer than normal, then stepped inside to the main deck's entryway to see a pastel pink bubble appear in front of him in the middle of the richly appointed saloon, an Espeon, Umbreon and white-flowered Florges all appearing protectively surrounding the two boys as what Marcelle guessed was some kind of psychic or magical barrier was halted. The Florges and Espeon's eyes were gently glowing violet and white respectively until the barrier fully dropped, so the sailor supposed it was some kind of combined skills on the Pokémon's parts. "The bedrooms are below and the stairway is to the right there- feel free to start settling in, all of the rooms on the port, the left after you finish going down, are the guest rooms. We'll probably need to get you both some clothes at some point after we start our trip as well. My crew and I will start ordering supplies for the voyage tomorrow and get you an accounting of what we spend from your advance payment. I'll also instruct my crew to provide no information about you or where we're going."

Arthur offered a polite incline of his head. "We thank you. Yes, the fewer that know of us and where we're going outside of you and your crew, the better for everyone." He then translated for Noah, the pair and their Pokémon heading downstairs to get settled into their respective quarters for the future trip.


	12. Passion

"Heya, Sil. Long time no talk, eh? You at a good spot where you can't be overheard right now?""

" _Jessie_?!" Silvia Ashford spit out the name as if she'd seen the other woman's ghost materialize in front of her after answering the strange number on her PokéGear, glad it was early enough that the newspaper's office was empty but for her and _also_ that her office door was closed. The red-headed investigative reporter for the _Goldenrod Gazette_ then smirked, leaning back with a confident quirk of her eyebrow as she kicked her sneakered feet up onto her cluttered, messy desk, a few random papers, notebooks and a small Sentret plush falling to the ground as she settled in. "What brings the prodigal Maroon Town runaway crawling back to her _supposed_ best friend after almost two years of radio silence?" Silvia then glowered angrily, her tone turning into an older sister scolding a younger after she sipped her morning cream and sugar-laden cup of coffee, already firing up her work computer because she knew what usually brought her lifelong best friend out of the woodwork. "I thought you were _dead_ for, oh, about the past year, y' know. Mew's _sake_ , Jess, PokéGears are _a thing_!"

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. _Told_ you I was gonna be laying low for a while doing some undercover stuff, didn't I?" Jessie snickered, Silvia noticing the sound of lapping water as her friend talked. "Just, uh, turned out to be for longer than I thought, and trying to find a way to call you without being overheard was a _huge_ pain." She then sighed. "As you've probably already guessed, sorry, but I need your expertise."

"I figured as much, been like that ever since you've started helping those people," Silvia grumbled not unkindly as she logged in, pulling up various search engines. "Also, I'm gonna point out that 'a while' is, like, maybe a month, not almost _two years_. _Annnnnnnd_ now that I've smacked your hand enough, what's up?"

"Can you see what you can find out about missing or dead people that either disappeared or died under weird circumstances? Oh, and probably best to use old-fashioned ink and paper records for this and try and keep this quiet, okay? I'd rather not have it known that you're looking."

Silvia blinked before taking another sip of coffee. "Like, what exact _kind_ of weird are we talking? That's...gonna be a _pretty_ big list without any additional information, Jess, especially if you're making me go non-digital. 'Course, if this is for those people you've been helping, I'm not surprised."

"See, that's the hard part, Sil. I'm not exactly sure _what_ we're looking for besides that they're probably marked missing or dead, and that something may be off or suspicious about it." What sounded like Fang and Striker conversing filled the phone in the background. "I've been taking care of a pretty strange kid for a few weeks now and I'm hoping to try and figure out where he came from and what's going on with him exactly. We know that the Unity Project's tied up in it somehow."

Silvia sensed that there was more that Jessie wasn't relaying to her, but knowing Jessie it was for Silvia's own protection. "OK, so what exactly's weird that has you wondering? I mean, you've told me _some_ about what the Unity Project's really doing, but I know you don't want me writing any articles yet."

"Yeah, absolutely not, not until we're ready to make our move and take them down. Anyhow, well, the problem is that the kid has amnesia, and I don't mean, like, he can't remember the last week or something like that. I'm talking this kid remembers _absolutely_ _nothing_ about who he is or his life _at all_ prior to about a year ago, when he woke up in one of Unity's research centers. Knowing how careful Unity usually is about covering their tracks, I'm wondering if this kid isn't either declared dead, or missing long enough at this point to have been legally _declared_ dead. And there are probably more just like him, based on what we've uncovered."

"Any accent? What languages he can speak besides Common? Those might help, off the top of my head." Silvia nibbled on the end of her pen in concentration after picking it up from among several other similarly marked pens and pencils on her desk, her reporter's mind working furiously.

Jessie hummed in thought. "Well, he has a female Zoroark buddy named Noire. That sounds Kalosian, right?" Silvia could hear the gentle chiming of Luna now. "As far as an accent or other languages or anything, nothing like that, though- he doesn't have an accent that I recognize, and I've tried tried Johto _and_ Kanto Kantai and the little bit of Sinnosian I know. Had couple friends of mine here try Kalosian and Hoennese too. In fact, come to think of it, he barely spoke _Common_ at all when I first met him, much less anything else." She sighed. "I should probably also let you know...well, he seemed to hesitate or pause for a second when we saw Castelia City on the news last week when they were talking about the anniversary of Plasma's takeover, as if it seemed familiar and he was trying to figure out why."

"Oh, _no_. Do _not_ tell me that this kid may be from _Unova_ ," Silvia moaned after polishing off her coffee, standing up and beginning to pace in her cluttered-with-a-purpose office. "Do you have _any idea_ how hard it is to get any kind of information about that place _at all_ , much less any kind of actual _records_ like that out of them, Jess? Unova's been a black hole for about, oh, _twenty years_ now, nothing much coming in _or_ out aside from occasional refugees that manage to escape to other region-states. And they _will not_ talk much once they get out because _believe_ me, we journalists have been trying. Those Plasma guys have the whole region in a real chokehold- even what's _left_ of the Unova League is fully under Plasma's control. Not that the League actually _does_ much out there, of course, since only Team Plasma members and a few specially selected League officials are even allowed to _have_ Pokémon at all."

"Yeah, I know it'll be a big pain, but you know I'm coming to you because you're the best at what you do, Sil!" Jessie's lighthearted tone then grew more serious. "Plus, unfortunately I'm actually pretty sure the kid _is_ from Unova. I mean, he has a _Zoroark_ with him, for starters, and we both know that Unovan Pokémon got a _lot_ more difficult to come by after Plasma basically shut Unova's borders down. In fact, I wanted to run an idea by you." A pen scratched against paper. "One of your regular sources is a Unovan refugee, right? Could you do me a _huge_ favor and have them record a few sentences and write down a few things in Unovan? I want to run it by the kid and see if either spoken or written Unovan triggers some memories. I can arrange to have a friend of a friend pick things up next week."

Silvia blinked. "I mean...I can try, but I _really_ try to not bring up their homeland with them, and I can't promise anything just so we're clear. Unova is a _really_ sore subject for her refugees in general, for really good _and_ really obvious reasons."

"Thanks, Sil. I gotta get going, but you can get a message to me via the usual restaurant if you need to. Talk to ya later, promise!" Silvia opened her mouth to retort to a dial tone before she hung up, vastly annoyed but _also_ intrigued. Whatever shadowy group her best friend was working for, they seemed to have good intentions, and Silvia decided she could, at the least, go to where her Unovan contact could usually be found and see if he'd be willing to provide a voice sample of Unovan and some written Unovan for Jessie to show this mysterious, amnesiac child that Jessie had taken on. _Then again,_ Silvia thought with a rueful smile, _Jessie always did have a bad habit of picking up strays and taking care of them._ Should her potentially having picked up a Unovan orphan come as anything _close_ to a surprise? The Johtoan shook her head and laughed softly before grabbing her jacket and her press pass and heading out of the office, taking a brisk stroll through the city streets in a northeasterly direction, towards a tiny restaurant that had become a _de facto_ gathering spot for the city's Unovan refugees to see if she could catch her contact before he left for the day.

* * *

"Alright. Status report in Kalos so far, Erik." A male hand reached towards a Sylveon curled up on a plush pillow on top of a wooden desk as its owner spoke smoothly, the Sylveon letting out a content rumble and shutting his eyes happily as his head was gently stroked. Afternoon sun was streaming through the large, elegantly appointed top floor office, filling the room with light. "It sounds like our little Rocket impersonation in Sinnoh is going swimmingly, by the by, since I knew you'd be curious. Now we wait and see how the Rockets react."

Erik began without preamble. "So far there's no trace of either Subject _or_ the three Pokémon. We're thinking they _may_ be trying to hop to another region because the car was found outside of Ambrette on the coast, but we're keeping an eye on the airports as well just in case they somehow manage to purchase a ticket without any of our associates being alerted. We're also asking any and all charter boats or fishing boats and cruise lines that go through the area to keep an eye on things as well."

"I expect regular updates. You know Four's my personal favorite because of my fondness for Fairy-types and him being a fellow Kalosian, and I most definitely want him back. Orson is also absolutely _beside_ himself at losing Three, the Orrean. He's been absolutely _insufferable_ since the escape and incessantly whining about how he'll never find another suitable Orrean." He clucked his tongue. "I believe he thought the Umbreon we acquired would be enough to keep Three and his abilities in check if he got too out of hand. Instead, the Umbreon apparently bonded with Three _as well_ as the designated Espeon."

"I'll naturally keep you up to date, sir. On the _other_ item we've been actively working on, word's reached me from our contacts in the Indigo League that Gary Oak has apparently filed Distance Education paperwork with his school recently." He paused briefly to let the significance sink in. "He didn't get a license, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise given what he went through, but I think we can assume he's starting a journey with a friend _and_ a guardian due to Kantonian and Johtoan law. We're already looking into guardianship papers and recently issued Trainer Licenses to figure out who he's leaving with."

The grin that crossed the man's face was almost predatory for a moment before it relaxed into a more genuine smile. " _Well_ now, so the professor is _finally_ letting his grandson stretch his wings and leave Pallet Town now that he's grown up a bit. I think we can turn this to our advantage, don't you?" The man got up from his desk and walked over to a wet bar, pouring himself a glass of tonic water on ice and continuing to speak as he busied himself. "Pallet Town is small enough that sending in an operative to befriend and eventually question Gary was too great a risk for my liking, but now that he's out in the world, perhaps we can _finally_ get some answers about the Verdanturf Incident from its only surviving witness. Well, I suppose I _should_ say only surviving _human_ witness, shouldn't I?"

"Of course, sir. The only problem is that...well, the boy seems to have had his memory blocked or wiped as far as the incident from all indications, likely by the escaped experiment itself." Erik's frown could be heard in his tone. "And I don't believe it's a cover-up or that they're lying. His medical records we've managed to gain access to are all incredibly consistent, and Gary saw multiple psychiatrists thanks to his grandfather who all seemed to draw the exact same conclusions, though of course they diagnosed it incorrectly as a repressed memory since they had no way of knowing that a Psychic-type, or _really_ a Pokémon at all, was involved."

"Understood, and I appreciate the candid input. Still, I'd like you or someone you trust to bring the Oak boy in for questioning. It's been long enough that perhaps new information is starting to shake loose despite whatever the experiment did to him. I want to be clear, there are to be no casualties _or_ injuries- get in quietly, get him, and get back out. Ensure they know he'll be returned completely unharmed once we're done so long as they leave us to it and don't involve any authorities." He refilled his drink. "I think it's high time we erase the black mark on our records that _is_ the Verdanturf Incident for good, and finish fully cleaning up Fuji's mess that he dragged us into thanks to his little unauthorized side experiments. I also have a feeling Gary Oak will serve as the _perfect_ bait to draw Mew's second coming out of whatever hole it's hiding in as well, so perhaps we can kill two Fletchlings with one stone." The man emitted a thoughtful 'hrmm.' "It _followed_ Gary when he moved to Kanto from Hoenn, after all, considering the handful of sightings documented in and around the Seafoam Islands and the general vicinity of Pallet Town the past few years. It seems to feel _responsible_ for him, and I think it would be foolish of us to not attempt to exploit that."

"Got it. For now, I know you have that television appearance coming up, so I'll let you go." Erik ended the call as the forty year old, purple-haired man strode towards his office door, his Sylveon immediately at his side expectantly. The man put on his wide, camera-ready smile and mask that he usually wore in public as he headed down to the main floor to meet the cameras, looking every bit the harmless, Pokémon-adoring weirdo that he was so careful to let the majority of the world think he was.

Of course, the part about loving Pokémon was _more_ than true enough. He considered Pokémon friends and allies, to be cherished as much as the Pokémon seemed to cherish human companionship. He'd always been fascinated by them and found them both a source of comfort and stability during his admittedly rocky childhood, catching snatches of time with what few Pokémon he could manage to interact with in the world forever changed by Geosenge Syndrome.

 _Then_ the ancient folk tales of Sinnoh had reached his ears as a teenager sitting in a free 'Creation Myths From Around The World' lecture at the Lumioise City Central Library. Sinnoh's tales were passionately and lovingly orated by a proud Sinnohite both in Kalosian with assistance from a translator and in the ancient Sinnosian tongue widely considered by scholars to be the first spoken language, and everything had changed for the teen after he'd fervently further researched the tales, feeling as if a fire had been lit in his very soul.

He had been granted new insight, a new lease on life- _and_ a singular, driving purpose that he would let _nothing_ stop him from achieving. The cultivated mask was an unfortunate necessity, and he offered a nod as the first of the reporters greeted him, Augustin Duchet feeling the mask fully slip into place.

"Mister Duchet! Is it true that you're offering to assist the Kalos League with the Lumioise Conference this year as a judge?" A young female reporter eagerly waved a microphone in his direction.

He offered a polite half-bow. "This is indeed true. I've been kindly asked to assist thanks to one of the judges suddenly falling ill, so I will indeed be assisting with the Conference this year."

"Are the rumors that you may be coming out of retirement and returning to the League circuit true as well? Is assisting with judging part of your plan to return?"

The former Champion of Kalos offered a coy smile. "I certainly can't say one way or the other yet. I _will_ say, however, that I do find myself missing the spirit of battling these days, so I certainly can't rule it out. As Kalos knows, I've been very happy to work with my beloved Unity Project to try and bring people and Pokémon closer together so that we might better understand each other, but perhaps a return to the arena with my beloved friends is _exactly_ the spark I need to help further my work." He winked slyly. "We would have to work hard to get back into shape, though! I think we've all eaten _far_ too many Poké Puffs for our own good."

As the press conference continued, all Augustin Duchet could think about was getting back to his life's passion.


	13. Manifest

"So where should we go to first?" Ash was bouncing in his seat with excitement as they headed into Kanto after landing, looking around eagerly as the world whizzed by around the convertible. "I don't think Pewter or Viridian City would be good places to start, Eevee and Pikachu would have a tough time against Rock and Ground-types."

James nodded as he focused on the road in front of them. "Quite correct, _plus_ the Viridian Gym has a reputation for being a pretty tough go even _if_ you have the protections, so to speak, of being under four badges into the Gym Challenge." He mulled the question over for a few moments before continuing. "I'd feel remiss as your Pokémon training mentor if I didn't suggest Cerulean City as our first destination for you to try and get a badge, actually, considering your access to not one, but _two_ Electric-types with Tracey and Deecee's assistance." The Pachirisu eagerly voiced his agreement from the backseat, where he was currently stretched out over the back of Tracey's part of the seat. "We'll probably want to stop at the Training Center in Mossgreen Village for a while before we head there, though. Deecee's been battling regularly since he was a Training Center Pokémon so I'm sure he'll be alright, but Eevee and Pikachu may want to train and shake off the rust a bit considering the shape they were in and the fact that they've been resting and recuperating for several weeks."

"[Hey.]" Pikachu glanced up and over at Deecee from his spot by Ash. "[You _understood_ the humans just now, didn't you? What are they saying about us? I heard our names.]" His tone was a mix of suspicion and worry, Eevee's ears swivelling as he also tried to listen in on the conversation from the front seat. He and Eevee still weren't _quite_ sure if they trusted the humans yet, but they and the other 'mon they'd met so far seemed nice enough _and_ they'd recognized James and Meowth as the ones that had set them free from the white-coated humans and their endless experimentations with Pokéballs, so the pair had decided to stick around, at least for the time being.

"[Sure, at least mostly,]" replied Deecee with a nod as his head turned towards Pikachu. "[I got to meet a _lotta_ different Keepers and 'mon at the training place I was at, so I can understand Keepers pretty well usually. Some I can't, though, when they use weird words.]" The Pachirisu snickered before closing his eyes, enjoying the breeze and fresh air. "[It gets easier the more time we spend with a Keeper, so you guys'll probably be able to understand 'em more after a while too.]" Deecee offered Pikachu what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "[Don't feel bad. Anyway, they were saying we'll be going to a training place, so we can practice sparring.]"

The car pulled off the freeway and James started following the signs pointing to Mossgreen Village, meandering, serene two-lane country roads leading to a quiet, sleepy-looking village whose buildings almost looked like they'd had been constructed out of the very rocks and trees in the area itself, a few well-kept fields of berry and apricorn trees spaced between the small homes directly abutting what looked like untamed wilderness beyond the edges of the hamlet. "Wow. Is there _really_ a Training Center here? You'd think you could see it from way off," muttered Gary as they took in the pastoral scene, his head swivelling as he fruitlessly searched for the expected massive building.

"Yes, and it's a very special one to boot," replied James with a nod and smile as he parked the convertible and trailer. "You've all been to a Training Center when we took Ash to get his license. Now we're going to visit a _Wild_ Training Center, one of two in the entirety of Kanto." He beckoned the group to follow him, heading towards one of the houses that had two vehicles parked in close proximity, one an absolutely massive grey RV and the other a small green truck with a modest fifth wheel attached to it. A small, well-worn bronze plaque welcomed them to the Mossgreen Wild Training Center before they entered the building into a cozy-looking space filled with plush chairs for humans and beds for Pokémon to rest on. A blonde woman with a Houndoom by her side was chatting with the man at the counter, and a green-eyed girl with waist length black hair in a dark purple motorized wheelchair with rugged, thick tires clearly meant for outdoor, off-road use decorated with various Pokémon and Pokémon League stickers was gently petting what looked like a bunch of flowers she'd gathered from the nearby fields and made into a necklace around her neck. A pleasant aroma filled the room as they queued up behind the two. The green part of the girl's necklace then moved suddenly, revealing a small, green and orange face through the gap between the wheelchair's headrest and back. The face studied the boys, the Pokémon, then James before offering a wide smile and a happy-sounding greeting.

"Fey com _fey_!"

" _Whoa_!" Ash's initial startlement quickly turned to laughing, then rapt fascination as he studied the strange Pokémon along with the equally interested Tracey and Gary.

"Haha! Lily got you guys didn't she?" The motor of the girl's wheelchair gently whirred while she executed a 3-point turn with clearly practiced precision to face them, the girl practically beaming and her eyes and face filled with amusement. "She's an Alolan Pokémon called a Comfey that my mom got permission for me to have before Amelia and I left for my journey. She likes collecting flowers and making herself into a necklace." The girl laughed as the Comfey carefully unwrapped herself from where she was loosely draped around the girl's neck and started presenting the group with flowers from the ones she'd collected, removing them from a long, thin vine sprouting from her head and gently, but insistently pressing one flower into each member of the group's hands. "Looks like Lily likes you guys, so you must be nice." She offered a beaming grin, gesturing to the woman at the counter. "I'm Karen, and this is my guardian Amelia and her Houndoom Circe!" The Houndoom turned and offered a regal incline of her head to them at the sound of her name.

"Hi! I'm Ash. I just got my license a few days ago!" He then gestured to Pikachu, who was half-hiding behind Ash's leg and carefully studying the strange contraption Karen was sitting in, his fur slightly bristled after he'd been startled by the sound of its motor and sudden movement. "And this is Pikachu. He's a little shy still." Pikachu carefully took a few steps forward on all fours towards Karen after deciding the strange, noisy chair wouldn't eat him, offering a tentative nod and smile to the girl.

"And I'm Tracey! This is my new friend Deecee," Tracey added with a smile as he gestured towards his shoulder, the Pachirisu chittering happily at Karen from what was becoming his regular perch on Tracey's left shoulder. He then scrambled down to the ground and quickly up the side of Karen's chair, perching on the armrest that didn't have her controls on it and happily being fussed on by Karen a little prior to returning to Tracey's shoulder.

"I'm Gary, and this is Eevee," Gary finished, smiling as Eevee also made his way toward Karen, Eevee carefully placing his paws on one of the wheelchair's wheels to extend his body upwards, churring and closing his eyes contentedly when Karen pet his head for a bit before he wandered back to Gary. "He's Ash's too, but he seems to like hanging out with me."

"Aww, I keep tellin' ya they're both _ours_ , you put in just as much time studying as me and Tracey" retorted Ash to Gary with a shake of his head before he turned his attention back to Karen eagerly. "So do you have any badges yet? We just started our trip today."

Karen shook her head "Oh, no! In fact, that's why we were coming to train! I have Lily and my Ponyta, Star." She dug in her pocket and held up a shiny, brand new Friend Ball that looked like it had just been made. "Maybe I'll see you guys when we're done with our session!"

The woman that Karen had identified as Amelia turned to the group with a smile, her blue eyes framed by thin, rectangular glasses. "Oh, you're all in for a treat if you've never been here before! Wild Training is a _very_ different kind of training and challenge from the usual trainer battles you watch on TV, but I shouldn't spoil the surprise!" Circe let out a soft bark of approval at her trainer's Sinnosian-accented Common, staring eagerly at a set of double doors to their left labelled 'CAUTION- LICENSED TRAINERS ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT!' Karen, Amelia, Lily and Circe then headed through the double doors, a dirt hallway the only thing visible before the doors shut again.

James grinned a bit and nodded. "Now you'll all get to see what exactly Wild Training is for yourselves." He then wandered up to check himself in at the counter, pulling out his license and Badge Holder and presenting them to the blonde man behind the counter. "James Kenton, four Badges, mixed team of six. The boys will be following me, but not part of the training. We'll get Ash a session scheduled once I'm done and he sees what Wild Training entails."

* * *

"Coupla things I figured you'd want a heads up about." Butch Thornton, currently employed by the Hoenn Pokémon League as a registrar and recordkeeper, was his usual to-the-point self after his _real_ boss gave him the signal to speak. "First, we had someone nosin' around the office here askin' about new trainers and newly appointed guardians over in Kanto a couple days ago. They were claimin' it was part of a registry fraud investigation, but I'd wager it's _them_ tryin' ta sniff the Oak kid out- we know they have their own moles in the Leagues, after all. Didn't step in, I know we're tryin' to kinda use the kid as bait while still keeping 'em safe. But ya might wanna get word to whoever you've got watchin' out for 'em that _they're_ likely gonna start makin' some moves soon."

"Right, and I'll be getting some things in the works in anticipation of that, particularly after _their_ little stunt trying to sully our name at the Lily of the Valley Conference. Turnabout _is_ fair play, after all. What else?"

"That _other_ thing ya had me look into." There was a brief pause. "Annalyse Layton transferred herself and her Pokémon to a Johtoan license under a new name _just_ about eleven years ago, exactly like ya thought. Took a long time to find 'cause there's a lotta reciprocity between Kanto an' Johto so she didn't have ta re-take the exam, but her new license was issued at the Olivine City Trainin' Center under the name Erin Kentworth, with her address listed in Catallia City." Then he dropped the bomb, the one he knew his boss wasn't going to want to hear. "And yeah, they noted she told 'em she was pregnant in the paperwork, but nothing more'n that since it wasn't relevant to the license." Butch had his strong suspicions why their leader had asked him to check into the woman, but he kept them to himself out of both loyalty _and_ self-preservation.

The silence stretched for so long that Butch wondered whether or not his boss had hung up the call before Butch heard the distinct sound of glass shattering as it hit a solid object, followed by a hissed, distant and barely audible "I _knew_ it." The disguised voice was back to normal volume after the phone was apparently picked back up, its measured tone back to its usual coolness. "Thank you. I'd like you to keep digging, your job and work for us permitting the time. As you probably suspect, I have a reason for inquiring, and I'd very much like to track Annalyse, or I suppose Erin now, down if it's possible."

"Sure. I'll do what I can an' keep ya updated." After Butch ended the call, another call was quickly placed to Sinnoh. The woman that answered was one of the Team Rocket leader's most trusted agents- one of only two Rockets that actually knew his true identity as Giovanni Cancio, Head Trainer and Gym Leader of the Viridian City Gym of the Indigo-Silver Joint Pokémon League, to use his entire ( _far_ too long, in his opinion) title.

"Yes, boss?" The woman's tone was playful as she picked up.

Giovanni began without preamble, the news he'd just had of his long-held suspicions that he _did_ have a child out there being finally proven correct after all this time rattling around in his mind before he forced himself to focus on the business at hand. "Domino, I need you to get to Kanto as soon as you can, please. There's a group I need you to watch over. _Covertly_. I don't want it obvious unless circumstances _force_ it to _become_ obvious."

"You know that's what I do best, but of course that _is_ why you're placing this call to me, yeah?" She snickered. "Rain, Eziel and Kuro should have some fun, too- they've been bored lately." He could envision the tiny, devious little smile on the blonde's face as she spoke those words. Her three hand-selected Pokémon partners were highly trained in various forms of subterfuge and black ops, the trio all exactly as cunning _and_ just as ruthless as their human partner if the situation demanded it. Giovanni often counted himself and the rest of the team _very_ lucky that the woman was on the Rocket's side thanks to an incident several years ago that had left Domino both hunted by several previous employers _and_ with a deep-seated vendetta against the Unity Project, the now twenty-five year old having initially agreed to help the Rocket cause due to both a common enemy _and_ her being impressed that they'd been resourceful enough to discover her actual name and track her down. Over time, Domino had become highly loyal and indispensable. "So where to exactly _in_ Kanto, and who are we tailing once we're there?"

"I'd like an extra pair of eyes in the shadows on Gary Oak and his friends for the foreseeable future, just for safety's sake. One of our more trustworthy and capable agents has already installed himself as his guardian per my orders, but _they're_ already trying to trace Gary's location from what a little Pidgey has told me, doubtless with ill intent." He got up from his desk and frowned, studying the schedule of challengers that he had. The Joint League had been _really_ starting to press Giovanni about how infrequently his Gym was actually open due to his...little side endeavor, so he'd been forced to agree to open up his schedule a little and establish at least _somewhat_ regular hours, the waiting list of challengers wanting to try their luck with what was widely considered one of the stiffest Gym challenges in Kanto quickly filling. "He indicated that he was going to try and steer them towards Cerulean City, and he's travelling with two other boys named Tracey and Ash in addition to Gary. I'll get you photographs before you land. I presume you'll be flying out of the usual airport under the usual alias?"

Domino's tone was coolly casual. "Eh, I'll probably change it up since it's been a few trips, but I'll let you know once I'm in the air. If you could work your magic with expediting my clearance, that'd be great. Getting my crew through customs takes _forever_ otherwise."

"Naturally." They exchanged brief pleasantries before Giovanni ended the call on his second burner Pokénav and grabbed the Poké Belt containing his beloved team from his desk, then hitting a secreted button that revealed a set of stone steps heading downwards. He'd made a few... _modifications_ to the Viridian Gym, or rather _under_ the Gym during his tenure, ones that he'd felt no need to run by the Joint League for their approval. He tapped a code into the door challenging him almost as soon as he finished descending, the door swinging open to reveal a massive, well-lit, metal-walled room filled with technology almost the size of the Gym above, the nerve center that Giovanni considered the heart of Team Rocket, as Project Unity had come to call them due to some of the teams' propensity for _rather_ liberally using explosives on Unity's compounds during their raids after securing them.

It had been one of those raids on Cinnabar Island that had netted them the bizarre Pokémon currently residing within the room, the strange Pokémon only actually seen by Giovanni, his Pokémon partners and Viridian City's Nurse Sheree Joy, the other Rocket agent that knew Giovanni's identity and his most trusted, oldest friend. "Where are you?" he called out, the response immediate as a Flygon flew up to him, the Flygon _such_ a perfect replica of Giovanni's own partner Zephyr down to the old scar on her left leg that if Giovanni hadn't _known_ that she was currently secure in her Luxury Ball on his waist, he would have doubtless mistaken the Flygon in front of him _for_ Zephyr.

"Fl _yyyyy_ gonnnn!" It eagerly flew around before settling down and shifting back into its true form- or at least what Giovanni _assumed_ from his interactions so far was its true form, a small, amorphous light purple glob with what seemed to be a permanent smile and a pair of tiny, beady black eyes. It then changed into something _else_ , a Pokémon that had left Giovanni's mouth agape as the implications crashed down around him the first time he'd seen it. Gentle blue eyes regarded him calmly as the living, breathing image of a god somehow made flesh flew in circles around him.


	14. Snag 'Em

Just a quick note, I will be treating all legendaries/mythicals as gender-neutral (they/them pronouns) unless they're specifically assigned a gender in the games.

* * *

 _[You intend to follow the Scribe hatchling to wherever he's going, don't you?]_ Golden amber eyes regarded the other 'mon calmly as the question echoed in the other's mind, knowing that her and her brother's companion had made their mind up already. _[We noticed a lot of boxes, which usually means the Scribes filling them are moving elsewhere.]_

 _[I do. I have appreciated your time in helping me become whole, and I have greatly enjoyed your companionship, but as you both know I feel a duty to the hatchling, so I must follow.]_ They glanced down from where the three were hovering in a psychically projected invisibility barrier far above the world below, the thick rain clouds blocking the trio's view. _[He is going north to Kanto, to the care of one of his pack members called Samuel from what I have gleaned.]_ They closed their eyes and took a deep breath. _[I failed Gary, his pack, and the other Scribes and 'mon there that day because I did not put the pieces together quickly enough. I will not permit it to occur again, and I would also meet this 'Samuel' for myself and discern his intentions, even if covertly.]_

A deeper, harsher though no less concerned voice rang into the mental conversation, piercing red eyes filled with a mix of wariness and worry as he studied his friend. [ _You are aware that there will likely be danger involved if you undertake this trip? The Scribes could see you if you aren't careful, and 'mon without Scribes are very rare out in the world after the Great Illness so utterly devastated our kind. You may be pursued, even actively hunted.]_ His worried frown softened a bit. _[Your aura is also great enough by this point to have 'mon of the mind pick up on it if you are not wary. The name given to you by the Scribes that created you speaks true- Mew's second coming, indeed.]_ The 'mon tilted his head curiously. [Speaking of that, have you settled on a name of your own making yet?]

 _[I have. You may call me Mew two, or Mewtwo.]_ They smiled softly and looked between the other two. _[It seems only appropriate.]_

The female nodded her head and smiled back. _[Then may Rayquaza's winds be at your back for your trip, friend Mewtwo. You know you are always welcome back to Hoenn.]_

* * *

Mewtwo forced themselves to snap out of their memories, carefully following Gary's pack from the skies as they gingerly ducked in and out of clouds to avoid being seen, trying to use invisibility as little as possible in an attempt to conserve their power. A Scribe settlement named 'Cerulean' somewhere to the northwest and a thing called a 'Wild Training Center' had been at the forefront of the group's minds as Mewtwo had scanned their thoughts from far above, so Mewtwo had decided to find a place to hide while also attempting to stay as physically close as they dared. _Did_ they risk trying to contact other 'mon who were travelling with their Scribes and ask about this 'Cerulean' and where exactly it was? Mewtwo knew the Scribe settlements of Hoenn well thanks to their stealthy travelling there, and also the locations of a few well-concealed packs of 'mon they could have asked, survivors of the Great Illness that had decided to eschew the Scribes' assistance and carefully kept themselves hidden away ever since. This land of Kanto, however, was new and foreign to Mewtwo aside from the area immediately surrounding Pallet Town and the water-drenched caves they'd been living in since following Gary to his new home, Mewtwo having not wanted to risk being too far away from Gary and his pack for too long.

They realized that Gary and his pack were turning a different direction, exiting the wide strip full of shiny noisy metal things - _cars_ to the Scribes and _rumblers_ to their fellow 'mon, Mewtwo quickly picked up from scanning the pack's knowledge- and heading to a Scribe settlement that Mewtwo almost missed due to it mostly blending in so well to its surroundings after they wandered on smaller strips- _roads_ \- for a while. Relieved that the pack stopped and got out, Mewtwo decided to meditate close by to rest and restore their powers until Gary and the group left again after determining that the group planned to stay for a while, beginning to invisibly scan the area for a safe place away from the eyes of prying Scribes and 'mon alike. Meditation was risky, rendering them effectively unconscious to the outside world until they finished, Mewtwo much more vulnerable than normal during the process due to that fact. Mewtwo had found it an absolute necessity every sun or two, however, particularly when they exerted themselves actively travelling and making regular use of flight and invisibility as they were currently doing.

 **[HOME]**

They found themselves startled almost to the point of losing altitude as a strange, unfamiliar aura unlike any 'mon's Mewtwo had ever felt before almost exploded into their consciousness with a booming screech, a swirling torrent of terror, anger and desperation tightening their chest along with a single, overriding thought:

 **[WANT HOMMMMMMEEEEEE]**

Clutching their head in pain, Mewtwo was forced to look for a spot to land, shutting their mind as much as they could while they looked for a safe landing through the mental chaos, choosing the center of a thick band of forest to try and recover. They'd been reading auras and thoughts, though mostly letting them drift in and out and softly bounce off their consciousness, particularly focusing on the thoughts of Gary's pack in case any changes in travel plans were made, but the sudden, unexpected raw power and emotion slamming into their mind had completely blindsided them. _Was_ it a 'mon? The rest of its thoughts seemed largely alien and unintelligible as Mewtwo carefully reopened their consciousness more fully while focusing on the strange aura, though Mewtwo occasionally recognized fragments of familiar words as the emotions and thoughts faded away to the north. _It is our tongue at least in part, though twisted in ways I do not recognize,_ they realized as they now focused on the thoughts and decided to temporarily break off their tailing of Gary and his pack to follow what seemed like a clear and present danger to both 'mon and Scribes alike, Mewtwo taking off back into the sky under the cover of invisibility and hoping that Gary and his pack would still be where they were when they returned from their investigation. Whatever the other creature was, its thoughts had been just as tainted with resentment as despair, and its aura had been very powerful indeed.

 **[WHERRRRREEEEE]**

 _Could this be one of the First?_ Mewtwo wondered as they stealthily trailed the churning mass of emotions. The aura was certainly powerful enough to potentially be one of the Alpha's creations from what their friends Latios and Latias had imparted to them during their time together- a group of 'mon whispered about with reverence and even worship among their own kind and the Scribes alike, rarely sighted, ancient and unfathomably powerful 'mon as old as the very world itself in some cases, those that had helped the Alpha form the world and bring life and order to primeval lands and oceans. Mewtwo wasn't certain that it was the case, however, unless one of the First had been driven mad somehow. The aura felt _too_ different, both like and unlike a 'mon at the same time, and the thoughts radiating from the creature's direction amounted to little more than variations of 'home', 'go home' and 'lost' among a bizarre string of the same, otherwise mostly unintelligible mental chatter that had initially startled Mewtwo.

Mewtwo's pursuit was finally rewarded as the source of the emotions came into view for them, a tiny, glimmering silver being that reflected the sun brilliantly as it flew along. As they got closer, Mewtwo realized that the aura of this creature was greatly belied by its tiny size- they guessed that the being they were rapidly closing in on could be no more than a foot high and about as wide. The being finally seemed to sense that it was being pursued, stopping and turning to face Mewtwo- or at least Mewtwo guessed that it was its face, a featureless yellow X encased in a diamond shape with two 'antennae' protruding skyward. Flashy orange and yellow accented its body, its 'arms' appearing to be a pair of drawn swords and its 'legs' little more than sharp points. Mewtwo then realized that it had been glimmering because its entire body appeared to be composed of pure metal- a Steel-type native to Kanto, perhaps? _No._ Mewtwo immediately dismissed that as soon as the thought had finished forming- _this_ was something else altogether.

 _[I sense your turmoil. Can I help you?]_ Mewtwo tried to reach into the creature's mind in spite of the language barrier, discovering that its thoughts were coalescing into more recognizable forms as the being seemed to calm. There were at least no openly hostile intentions as Mewtwo had initially thought, though the desperation of the being was now pushed to the forefront.

 **[NEED HOME. THE HUNGER COMES]** was the only reply before the creature jetted off to the north again, Mewtwo reluctantly deciding to give up the pursuit for now as they didn't want to leave Gary and his pack without protection for too much longer. They returned to stealthily trying to locate a spot to safely meditate, a thoughtful frown on their face. The encounter had left them with far more questions than answers, and they felt it might become necessary to risk contact with Scribes' 'mon in an attempt to obtain those answers.

* * *

"[So, I never got to ask you. What's your guys' deal with hating Pokéballs anyhow?]" Meowth let out a casual yawn as he studied Pikachu and Eevee, the group all trailing behind James. They'd gone down the hallway they'd seen Karen and Amelia vanish down earlier, then arrived at doors marked '4-6 Badges, Mixed Typing' and opened the double doors, entering into...what was, to all appearances a small carefully, elegantly fenced in area, looking mostly like one of the berry fields they'd seen on the way into town warmed by the afternoon sun and a shallow creek running down the left side, patches of tall grass peppering the edges of a small dirt walkway. "[I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan either, why I won't let James put me in one, but it sure seems to be on a whole other level for you two.]"

"[You try being put into and out of them endlessly over and over again,]" grumbled Pikachu darkly in reply as he walked next to Ash on all fours and surveyed their surroundings. "[That was all the white-coated humans did with us, it felt like. I'll be happy to never be in one ever again.]" He then turned to Eevee with a pensive frown. "[Eevee, though...he got the worst of it. That's all I'll say, it's his story to tell if he wants to.]"

Eevee grit his teeth and nodded, a small growl emitting from him and his tail fur fluffing at the memories as he ambled alongside Gary. "[They were testing a new ball that looked like a Rattata...]" He let the sentence drift off with a wince, clearly still unwilling to share the unpleasant experience before his own attention turned to their surroundings and his body language relaxed, sniffing the air as his ears ticed with interest. "[Weird, I sure smell a lot of other 'mon, but don't see any of them.]"

"[Yeah, that's kinda the whole point of this place as you'll find out,]" replied Meowth evenly as he glanced around and nodded. "[There's 'mon hidin' around everywhere waitin' to jump out and challenge James an' the team soon as they give the signal. That's why we're all walkin' behind James, an' trust me you wanna stay back here on this dirt path- we don't wanna accidentally pick a fight with any of these 'mon the team's capable of tangling with.]" He took a mental note to fill James in on this 'Rattata-looking' Pokéball later.

Deecee glanced around from his perch on Tracey's shoulder in confusion. "[Wait. Where are the other Keepers? Where's the sparring spot? Is this really a training place?]"

Meowth grinned and shook his head before glancing upwards towards the Pachirisu. "[Ain't neither here. You'll see how it works after James an' the team do their thing.]" As if on signal, James freed Bandit from his ball and after cautioning the rest of the group to stay back took a step with Bandit into the tall grass lining either side of the pathway, the pair carefully wading through the waist-high grass with expectant expressions.

"[Comin' at ya!]" A Sceptile with a male-sounding voice suddenly leapt down from one of the berry trees and landed in front of James and Bandit with a wide, impish grin, charging towards Bandit as its eyes began to glow green, a torrent of leaves materializing around him and flying in the Krookodile's direction. The attack seemed to exhaust the Sceptile a bit after he finished, his eyes clearing as he shook his head as if trying to clear it.

"[OWTCH!]" Bandit yelled as the super-effective attack hit him with hundreds of tiny slices, the Krookodile quickly recovering and snarling angrily at the Sceptile before waiting for James's command, trying to look as intimidating as possible while waiting. The Sceptile took a step or two backwards and seemed slightly shaken in the face of Bandit's menacing display, glancing between James and Bandit.

James quirked a brow. "This one's up to you, Bandit. _Do_ you want to train against a Sceptile?" He knew it would be rough, but James _also_ knew that the Krookodile had a stubborn streak and in fact often preferred to spar with opponents that had a type advantage over him, feeling that it helped make him stronger. Sure enough, the reply to James' question was an eager nod and wide, toothy grin from Bandit before he went back to studying the Sceptile they were squared off against intently, the ancient rules of honorable sparring among 'mon dictating that the Sceptile not act again until Bandit unleashed an attack in reply and the battle started in earnest. "Alright, then, let's do it! Start things off with a Crunch!" The Krookodile sprang forward in the Sceptile's direction with a fierce roar, jaws wide, and the spar was on.

" _Wow_ , this is weird to watch," muttered Ash as he watched Bandit and the Sceptile begin fiercely exchanging attacks. "So I guess there much be a bunch of Pokémon hiding like that in here."

Gary nodded, head swivelling back and forth between Sceptile and Krookodile as he watched the spar. "I remember Gramps telling me that this was actually how trainers used to get new Pokémon back before The Panic- they'd wander around with different kinds of Pokéballs and use their own team to find and catch the Pokémon they wanted out in the wild. Probably why they call this a Wild Training Center."

Tracey was enraptured, thrilled at being able to watch a battle so closely and soaking in every detail for later sketching while Deecee perched on his head for a better view. "I bet it makes it harder, too. Since the other Pokémon isn't working with a trainer, you have no way of knowing what attacks it's going to use, just trying to use its body language and making your best guess." Ash then slid over to his right and whispered into Tracey's ear while giving Gary a worried glance, a concerned frown crossing the Orange Islander's own features for a moment prior to nodding in agreement with Ash and glancing around the area. Ash is right- we might run into one of the species Gary's scared of here. How can we help him if it does happen? From what Tracey had been told by Ash and Gary, as long as Gary knew that an encounter was coming he was mostly alright and could control his reaction, but with the way this Wild Training Center seemed to work that was impossible.

"[We're not going to have to spar with tough 'mon like that, are we?]" Eevee was studying the sparring, half-hidden behind Gary while he directed the question to Meowth, ears drooping as Bandit got hit by a nasty Slam that drove the Krookodile into the ground and sent dirt flying before Bandit got back up with a grunt. "[I'd kind of like to try it, but we never got to spar when we were with the white coats.]"

Meowth shook his head. "[Nah, you guys will spar against _way_ different 'mon, don't worry. The humans are usually pretty good about trying to keep sparrin' fair.]"

Bandit finally succumbed to the string of Grass-type attacks, taking a knee and panting heavily. "[Good sparrin',]" he managed to get out to the Sceptile with a respectful nod before he turned his head towards James and shook his head to indicate he couldn't battle any further.

"[Awesome spar! I gotta tell ya I don't remember one of the soil lasting that long in a while,]" replied the Sceptile as he returned the nod and bowed before wandering off towards the building to go get healed up.

"You did great, Bandit!" James dug into the pouch of supplies at his side and extracted a Hyper Potion. "Now let's get you-"

A gruff male voice suddenly came over what seemed to be some sort of inbuilt intercom system wired into the facility, interrupting James as the group looked up and around, trying to locate the source of the voice. "This is the Snag 'Em Gang! We've totally taken over the place, an' any trainers in the place better stay right where they are an' not try anything funny! We'll be along to relieve you all of your Pokémon shortly."


	15. Interlude 1: Memories

**THIRTY YEARS AGO. LOCATION: COURIWAY TOWN, REPUBLIC OF KALOS**

* * *

Elise Deauchamp hadn't heard from her husband in almost three weeks, and she was getting worried at this point.

She stared intently at the small wooden-framed window across the living room as if she could somehow cause their mailman to materialize with a letter postmarked from halfway around the world through sheer force of will, sighing anxiously. Her longtime companion, a female Furfrou she called Princesse currently sporting a Star Trim, sensed Elise's tension and gently nuzzled Elise's arm with soft, sympathetic eyes. Adrien had told her to not allow their Pokémon any form of contact with any other Pokémon for the time being, either- if she ran errands that required her to leave the house, she would have to make the trip without one of their Pokémon family members by her side. The Deauchamp's other nine Pokémon were secure in their various Pokéballs, resting after standing vigil inside the house overnight while she and Giovanni had slept. Princesse and their female Pyroar, Rugir, seemed to have decided to split the day shift between themselves, and Elise found herself more than grateful at times for the company.

Elise knew something bad was brewing out there, _incredibly_ bad because what had quickly been named 'Geosenge Syndrome' seemed to be spreading through the entirety of Kalos like an out of control wildfire, and Adrien had cloistered her, their five year old son Giovanni and their eight Pokémon in a tiny, hastily acquired rental house on the far eastern outskirts of Couriway Town for a _reason_ when he'd left. Elise, however, was _also_ no fool and could put two and two together after overhearing quite a bit of gossip at what any Kalosian worth their salt knew was the best source for it, a café, in her case the nearby Anistar City café during her visits for various supplies. Not only was Couriway Town about as physically far away from Geosenge Town, the area that had given the horrible plague its name, as it was possible to get and still be on Kalosian soil, but the Kalos Pokémon League had officially called a halt to _all_ League activities and events along with any sort of battling or catching of Pokémon 'until further notice' two months ago. She and Adrien also _used_ to have twelve Pokémon, a full belt each, before Adrien had come back home looking like a ghost one evening two weeks before he'd sent her and Giovanni away from along with their remaining Pokémon family, full of apologies and torment.

 _I'm so sorry, darling. I slipped up while doing field work today, and Vienne and Camille will pay the price with their lives. We may lose Jardin and Feulle as well...No. I won't lie to you. We_ will _lose them, unless we get lucky and they weren't exposed for as long as I think._ _If they both show no symptoms after a week, they'll be released back to us._

 _What in the world is going on, my love?_

 _I_ wish _I knew, Elise. But I, and the others, fully intend to find the answers as soon as possible. In fact, I'll be going on a trip for exactly that. Any Pokémon researchers that can spare ourselves and all of the Pokémon Professors from the various regions have been urgently requested to attend some kind of emergency summit about Geosenge Syndrome over in Kanto, at a place called Celadon City, and I've already agreed to attend. It seems Geosenge Syndrome is affecting many more regions than Kalos now...it's become an almost worldwide epidemic at this point. Only Alola has escaped it so far, because they've chosen to entirely shut themselves off to the world- which, frankly, I have a feeling may turn out to be a very wise decision on their part._

At first, his letters had been regular and she'd had no reason to worry, only reason to miss Adrien's personality and laugh, his beautiful bright green eyes, his blonde mustache and beard that tickled her skin softly when they kissed and his warmth in their bed, but three weeks was long enough to go without a letter from Adrien that she was beginning to wonder if something had happened that was almost entirely tying up his time- or the thought she didn't want to even acknowledge, that something horrible had happened to him on the other side of the globe.

" _Mère_? _Père n'est toujours pas de retour_?" asked her sleepy son in Kalosian as he wandered down the stairs from his upstairs bedroom still rubbing his eyes, causing Elise to give him a gentle, though chiding smile as Princesse galloped over to him, her tongue lolling happily and her tail wagging furiously before she laid down and rolled over onto her back in front of Giovanni and let out a pleading whine, the Furfrou's way of not-so-subtly asking for belly rubs.

" _Nous devons pratiquer votre commun. Comment demanderiez-vous cela?"_ Elise wanted Giovanni to be at least mostly fluent in League Common, and his lessons had been going well so far.

"Okay," Giovanni replied brightly as he gently rubbed Princesse's belly before standing up, the wheels in the raven-haired five year old's head clearly churning as he translated the sentence into the other tongue. "Um...Papa still is not back?"

"Very good! That's exactly right." Elise was beaming with pride as she walked over into the kitchen to start their breakfast before continuing the conversation in Common. "He's working in a far away place right now called Kanto to try and help the Pokémon that are getting sick to try and help make them feel better, but he'll be back as soon as he can." She tried to project a happiness and confidence in her voice that she didn't really feel for the sake of their son, Giovanni wearing a wide smile and eyeing the makings of an omelette Elise was beginning to assemble just as eagerly as Princesse.

They passed breakfast pleasantly, and Elise was just finishing cleaning up the mess in the kitchen when there was a knock at the door. She felt a thick dread coalesce through her mind and body like a fog as Elise noticed the particular pair of people that were standing on her doorstep through the window while she approached the door, the police officer- Jenelle Jenny, she was fairly certain her name was- from Couriway Town standing there with a sad expression on her face. By the policewoman's side was a brown-haired older man in a grey suit holding a briefcase with the logo of the recently formed Global Pokémon League on it, a soft frown on his face but his eyes unreadable behind a pair of black sunglasses. Elise returned a _highly_ reluctant Princesse to her Pokéball after she looked around to make sure Giovanni was upstairs in his room, her recently eaten breakfast dancing dangerously in her stomach and threatening to reemerge as she answered the door.

" _Pouvez-vous parler commun_?" Jenelle asked softly, Elise wordlessly nodding in the affirmative and feeling the room slowly beginning to spin around her, the world gradually tilting off of its axis. She, at this point considering how long it had been since she'd heard from Adrien combined with the somber mood, had little to no doubt about why they were there, some primeval instinct already knowing the news the pair had traveled to her home to deliver and clutching her stomach in an icy grip. Jenelle removed her hat, taking a shaky breath as she glanced over to her companion.

"Miss Deauchamp," the man began softly as he carefully removed his glasses, revealing hazel eyes as full of condolence and compassion as his gentle tone, "I'm Steven Atchison with the Global Pokémon League, though I'm so very sorry we're having to meet under these circumstances. You'll probably want to sit down. I'm afraid we have some bad news to deliver."

* * *

 **TWO MONTHS LATER. LOCATION: FUCHSIA CITY, KANTO**

* * *

"Hi! You're new, right?"

Giovanni looked up from his lunch to see a pink-haired, pigtailed girl sit down across from him after asking the question in slightly Kantai-accented Common, a wide smile on her face as she plunked a neatly prepared, sectioned Jigglypuff-decorated lunch in a plastic container onto the large lunch table, something Giovanni had learned they called _bento_ in Kantai. Giovanni had found the little lunches that Kantonians put together very interesting, small bite-sized items often using various fruits and meats to make cute things that seemed too nice to even eat, to the Kalosian. He'd _also_ quickly found, however, that they tended to taste just as good as they looked, Giovanni sometimes exchanging parts of his _croque monseiurs_ or various Kalosian cuisine that his mother prepared for him in exchange and making a few friends among his class along the way.

"I am." He smiled back at the girl and nodded, carefully answering in the Common he'd been regularly practicing with his mother, especially now that they'd moved to a new country. "I am Giovanni. My mother and I moved here from Kalos."

"Neat!" The girl tucked into her lunch, carefully extracting a boiled egg carefully cut into the shape of a Jigglypuff and eating it. "I'm Sheree! Sheree Joy!" She bounced in her seat a bit, studying Giovanni. "So why did you move here? That's a _really_ long ways away, isn't it?"

Giovanni paused eating his own lunch, actually curious about that question himself. All he knew for certain at this point was that his mother had gone from saddened, devastated and wracked with grief to...something else, something faintly scary that the seven year old didn't know how to put into words, the move to Kanto part of whatever change she'd undergone. His mother still loved him as much as ever, Giovanni was certain of that, but she'd also started going out a lot with the family's Pokémon in tow to strange places that she didn't tell him about, often leaving Giovanni in the care of Rugir, Princesse and a woman he'd come to call _tatie_ Lisa, a kind violet-haired neighbor woman about his mother's age whom they'd met right after they'd moved to Kanto and grown close to. "Mother got a job here," he finally replied after realizing that Sheree was patiently waiting for a reply, following his mother's directions about how to answer the question if something along its lines was ever asked.

 _We're moving? Why are we moving?_

 _There's a job that I must do in Kanto, dear. I know it will be a very big change for both of us, but I hope you understand._

Giovanni _still_ wasn't sure that he did, but all he could do was trust in his mother's word.

A few hours later, he found himself following his new friend Sheree to a large, well-maintained house a few blocks away from their school after school had ended for the day, Lisa following them with Princesse and Rugir in tow. A small clan of boys and girls of varying ages filled the yard, playing and wrestling with each other and a few assorted Pokémon, Giovanni noticing that the girls all seemed to have the same pretty pink hair as Sheree, though the exact shade varied slightly. Princesse and Rugir got a glowing reception from the half a dozen children, the exotic Kalosian Pokémon getting admiring oohs and ahhs as Rugir kindly assented to the gentle petting with minimal fuss and a patient smile, the female Pyroar standing still and trying not to step on any small feet. Princesse, on the other hand, practically basked in the attention, the Furfrou's tongue lolling and her tail wagging furiously while she was pet, Giovanni and Lisa answering rapid-fire questions about both Pokémon from the fascinated group of children. A Blissey standing outside was watching over everything going on in the yard with air of a kindly grandmother, walking over and giving the newcomers a wide smile as she studied the group's antics.

"Such neat Pokémon!" offered one of the boys as the group fussed over them, a grin on his face. "I hope they don't get sick like the others," he added sadly, looking at the ground dejectedly. "Mom and Dad told us they're seeing a lot of Pokémon getting sick."

Giovanni tilted his head, noticing that somehow, things had gone from happy to sad. "I have heard of this, yes. Does your family work with Pokémon?"

"Yeah!" came a loud, happy cry of response almost in unison, the mood elevating a bit.

"Our family's helped with the Pokémon Centers for a _real_ long time," added Sheree with a nod, almost beaming. "We say it's our 'family calling," she added, her chest puffing with pride. "Almost all of us girls study to be nurses and work at the Pokémon Centers." There were five various nods and murmurs of assent after Sheree's explanation.

"Wow! You all must get to see a _lot_ of different Pokémon, then!" Giovanni found himself almost jealous thinking about how neat it must be before he found himself pulled into the house, the family showing off their companion Pokémon and all of the research materials and accolades the Joy family had accrued before going back outside to play.

When Giovanni was dropped off later that evening by Lisa, Rugir and Princesse flanked him as he entered the house, calling out to let his mother know that he was back from playing with his new friends.

"Hello, darling! How was your play date? I heard you got to make quite a few new friends!" He could hear her calling from their living room, so he wandered in to find his mother seated across from the man he remembered as having come to their old home back in Kalos to deliver the news that his father would never be returning from the trip he'd made, the man adjusting his glasses and giving Giovanni a smile and nod. _What_ had his name been again? Giovanni shook his head and put it out of his mind quickly, practically beaming as he brightly told his mother of the large Joy family and their Pokémon, both almost overwhelmed _and_ enthralled by the family's size and friendliness. "They sound wonderful! I'm very glad you've made some new friends here." She then ruffled his hair and smiled. "Now why don't you practice your Common for a bit in your room? I got you a few new books today, they're on your bed." Knowing that this was a signal that his mother had Adult Business to attend to, Giovanni wandered off to his room with a smile, studying the books carefully.

Maybe, thought Giovanni as he picked up one of the new books and cracked it open, things _would_ be alright in this new place after all, in spite of the secrets his mother was now clearly keeping.


	16. Pursuit

Sorry about my recent absence, summer and the start of fall tends to be like this for me. :( On with the updates now!

* * *

"It's safe."

"He's definitely Unovan," Jesse began without preamble after Giovanni gave the signal. "I know someone trustworthy that'll keep her mouth shut that knows a cell of the Unovan resistance based here in Johto, and she got them to write some Unovan and record some spoken Unovan too. I just ran both by him, and you should have _seen_ the look on his face. Unfortunately it didn't jog any memories aside from that, but it's a lock at this point." She sighed softly, almost sympathetically. "He's taken to calling himself Black."

"And you've verified he actually speak and understand the Pokémon language?" This was the part that Giovanni was truly curious about, he had to admit, and it would explain _their_ insistence on the term 'living bridges.' They were attempting to create, or rather _had successfully_ created apparently, a _'_ living bridge' that would enable full, fluid communication between human and Pokémon- a human but not _fully_ human anymore, a human somehow fused with the DNA of a Pokémon. What caused Giovanni's stomach to churn and the bile to rise in his throat was the knowledge that _that man_ probably thought of what he was doing as a blessing for the child, something the boy should be thrilled and honored to be a part of. The fact that Black had likely been taken from his family by force or trickery and had his life irrevocably changed probably didn't enter into the other man's thought process at all.

Augustin Duchet truly adored Pokémon, one of the very few things Giovanni was in full accord with Project Unity's leader on. _Humans_ , however...

"Yeah," Jesse quietly replied, her tone vaguely awed. "I wouldn't believe it unless I was seeing and hearing it myself, but he can. He talks like a Zoroark since his Zoroark buddy Noire tutored him; Black calls it 'Pokéspeak.'" There was a sound of a chair being pulled out that momentarily grated in the background. "He's not faking it either, you can tell they're actually _talking_ , having a full back-and-forth conversation. Plus, to be honest? I _may_ have tested him a bit after he first told me about it. I asked questions he'd have no possible way of knowing, stuff that only Fang or Striker could tell him from our time together, and Black's answers were always right."

Giovanni snorted and shook his head in a mix of revulsion and amazement before sitting down at his desk in his secret subterranean chambers under the Viridian City Gym. "'Bringing people and Pokémon closer together', alright. And knowing _him_ , I'm very willing to bet that Black isn't the only hybrid Unity's created. That's probably something we need to start focusing our attention on when we can spare the time. I'll be expecting another report at the usual time in two days." He ended the call and then reached for a thick manila file folder, flipping through the collection of reports, newspaper clippings and case files he'd collected in search of a particular one, having sent a certain set of criteria to certain trusted agents around the globe after Jesse had initially revealed what precisely Team Unity's 'living bridges' were.

As soon as Jesse had sent him a picture of the amnesiac, genetically altered child calling himself 'Black' a few days ago, Giovanni had hit paydirt within the files of missing-persons reports that had been covertly collected by him. The child was a few years older in the picture Giovanni had been sent by Jesse and Black's eyes were a completely different, almost unnatural electric blue color, perhaps an effect of whatever precisely had been done to him, but there was next to no doubt in Giovanni's mind. A ten-year old boy stared up at him from a photograph tucked into the missing-persons file he'd retrieved, fluffy dark brown hair stuffed under a red and white cap framing a trim, softly smiling brown-eyed face. His eyes quickly flit over the summary sheet:

 **Hilbert Anderson- Unova.** _R_ _eported missing by his mother Dahlia Anderson in the wake of a failed assault by the Unovan Resistance on Vertress City four years ago. Aged ten at the time. This one checks all your boxes too, boss- only child, single parent with the other parent not really in the picture too much or dead, his two Pokémon also vanished along with the kid, no kind of ransom demand at all. The report seems fishy too, could just be Plasma pulling a Plasma though- you know how Unova is. Dahlia may be a good candidate for us to feel out approaching if we can manage it, she could maybe be the in with Plasma we've been looking for too. She's a mid-level exec in charge of one of the Registration Centers out there, attached a brief on her in case you're interested._

Giovanni _was_ interested pending further cautious research into the woman, but he turned his mind elsewhere for now, starting to pick through a few more of the likelier reports before his personal cellphone rang, the one he strictly used for non-Rocket related activities, and it plinked out a ringtone he had assigned for one _very_ specific number. Hoping that something wasn't wrong, he felt his heart skip half a beat before quickly answering. "This is Giovanni."

"Mr. Cancio, this is Keiko with Bellsprout Gardens calling. I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but you said to give you a call right away if someone comes to try and visit your mother without advance notice from you."

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly to calm his heart rate and clear his mind, willing the myriad of doomsday scenarios to the corners of his mind and focusing on the conversation at hand. "You're not interrupting anything, and my thanks to you and the staff for following my directions. Who was he, and what did he want?" Giovanni felt himself sit straight up at rapt attention, various plans and movements already falling into place in his mind depending on whoever this visitor turned out to be and what their intended aim was.

"He gave his name as Colress Darcours. He had a really weird hairstyle and an accent I couldn't place, though he spoke Johto Kantai _very_ well, in fact good enough for this Ecruteak girl to be impressed." Keiko's heels clicked down a hallway. "Said he wanted to talk to your mom about the Great Illness and what happened back then, since she was the wife of a field researcher at that time. He apologized and left without a fuss after I explained your mother's... _situation_ and that she wouldn't be able to help him even if she wanted to."

Giovanni felt a wave of relief wash over his body, the adrenaline that had been singing in his veins slowly dissipating and his heartbeat receding from a pounding roar in his ears to a dull thud and then nothing. _Just another nosy reporter or researcher then, though I'm still going to have him looked into._ Even almost twenty-five years after the last of the devastating epidemic had run its course, there were still those eager, starry-eyed reporters and young Pokémon researchers that wanted to try and answer one of the biggest mysteries hanging over the world: _How had Geosenge Syndrome started in the first place? How had it spread so far and so quickly?_ As if the questions surrounding the disease hadn't been asked and probed into a million times by an army of _other_ reporters or researchers over the years hoping for _their_ big break. "Yes, as you say she wouldn't be able to help him at all with that." His mother only recalled the last twelve years, after all, any memories prior to her awakening in Galar obliterated somehow in what Giovanni was certain had been a bid to silence her without outright killing her. He still remembered that strange early morning phone call from Steven Atchinson letting him know that they were fairly sure they'd found his mother in _Galar_ of all places. "Again, thank you for the call and for taking care of her so well. I know my mother's in excellent hands, and this just goes to prove that. Please pass my regards and thanks along to the manager."

"You're very welcome. She's a sweet lady. Have a good day!" As soon as the call ended, Giovanni was furiously typing a text message to a number belonging to a very well-connected Hoennite woman who sometimes scratched Team Rocket's back in exchange for scratches in return.

 **Colress Darcours, strange hairstyle, had an accent but was fluent enough in Johto Kantai to impress a native speaker. Claims to be doing research into Geosenge Syndrome.**

 **Got it. High priority and everything I can find?**

Giovanni didn't have to debate much with himself much before making the decision- the man _had_ approached his mother, after all, which made the choice for him. He'd lost her once for two years, and he refused to let it happen again. **Yes, I want to know all I can so take your time. Tell me what you'll need in return when you're done.**

* * *

"Look, you've been assigned and directed to assist me, and that's that." Erik Dresden wasn't brooking any further argument. "We can either work together and try to make this as smooth as possible, or things can be made much more... _difficult_ for you, and you'll _still_ have to help me."

The response was almost immediate, his young passenger sulking and crossing his arms crossed as he slouched down into his seat as much as he could. "Well, what if I don't _want_ to help you?"

 _Be warned that Seven is a bit of a...free spirit, but he can help with the language if it's necessary and I'd like to start having him do some field work. I'm sure you can handle him. You'll be catching a flight out of Kalos bound for Kanto in an hour, and Seven will be handed over then. He's been made aware._

Erik felt the beginnings of a headache threatening the edges of his temples already, barely three hours after he'd landed in Kanto with the thirteen-year-old Fire-type hybrid and the boy's Typhlosion partner, their marching orders coming straight from Augustin himself: quietly, unobtrusively pluck Gary Oak out of Kanto and deliver him to one of the Unity Project's laboratories in Sinnoh in the hopes of luring Fuji's creation there. This wasn't going to be a quiet _or_ unobtrusive undertaking with the brash hybrid he'd been assigned to work with, Erik had a distinct feeling, but what Augustin wanted, he got. The Sinnohite _also_ knew that no one wanted the Verdanturf Incident put to bed for good more than their leader.

"Because if you _don't_ , you know the consequences. I'm _sure_ I don't need to remind you how both times you've tried to bail out the car have gone, and I would _really_ prefer to not have to force your cooperation." To finish making his point, the Sinnohite flashed a small button he had within easy reach, Seven grabbing reflexively at the slim silver collar around his neck before levelling a death glare at the older man, golden eyes smoldering with hatred before he put on his sunglasses and and stared out the window, running a hand through his black hair. "I'm trying to be kind and let you have some fresh air, but you can always stay in the ball with your Typhlosion if you prefer."

"His name's Recca," Seven replied sourly, slouching in the seat a bit and not even bothering to look at Erik before he fiddled with a pitch black Pokéball whose top was sturdily screwed into a thick silver chain around his neck. "Where _are_ we goin', anyhow? We're way out in the sticks, the signs back there only had Kanto Kantai on 'em."

Erik was actually mildly impressed by the boy's powers of deduction and observation, but kept that to himself. Seven was correct- most road signs, or signs in general, these days were dual-printed in Common and the regional language, excepting the far-reaching outskirts of said region-states. "We're grabbing some breakfast in a little place called Pallet Town, where the boy we're looking for is from, to ask around and see if we can find out where he's heading." He could feel another, though slightly less annoyed glare emanating from behind Seven's sunglasses before the boy let out a snort and glanced at the picture of Gary they'd been given. "The remoteness should help us. There can't be too many new trainers coming out of this part of Kanto, and we know he's travelling with one of them because Gary had distance education papers filed by his grandfather. We track down the trainer named Ash Ketchum and his guardian James Kenton, we find Gary Oak."

"Mmm." Seven shrugged a bit, turning his attention back to Erik and adjusting his sunglasses, giving the Sinnohite a glance over the tops of the lenses. "Once we find 'em, what's the plan exactly? I doubt they're gonna just let us walk off with 'em even if we do plan to return 'em once we're done." He then placed Gary's photo away and studied Ash's and James's with disinterest before looking back out the window at the bright, sunny early morning. Seven _was_ genuinely curious what they wanted with Gary, they didn't seem interested in turning the other boy into another of their 'living bridges' like himself, but he wasn't considered trustworthy enough to have that information imparted to him.

Erik shook his head. "Of course not, and we're _also_ under explicit direction to get this done as discreetly as possible, as you know. Once we find where Gary's at and size up the situation, we'll go from there. The immediate concern is going to be dealing with James and whatever Pokémon he has at his disposal, and I'm expecting a report with that information shortly. Gary's friend Ash will potentially be a concern as well, though a fresh trainer's Pokémon should be slightly less of a worry."

He then pulled the car over into a parking lot with a few other scattered vehicles in it before securing the collar's activation button in his jacket and hopping out. "We're going to have to walk from here the rest of the way- please behave and don't get any ideas," Erik advised Seven before lighting a cigarette. After securing the car and the rather reluctant hybrid fell in alongside him, they entered an arbor-lined trail marked **'SOUTH VIRIDIAN FOREST PATHWAY- Pallet Town 1.5 miles LEFT - Viridian City 2 miles RIGHT.'** He didn't notice Seven intently study the jacket pocket he'd placed his lighter in before they started walking, the wheels turning in the boy's head already. "Oh. Before we get to town, what name do you want to use, by the by? Calling you Seven won't work out in the field, and we'll need to get some fake identification made for you."

Seven snickered at that and opened a chest pocket on his cargo jacket to extract and reveal a Johtoan passport and ID before tucking them both back away. "Unity's way ahead of you there, now that you finally bring it up. You can call me Ethan- Ethan Suzuki." He then turned to Erik and smirked as they continued down the dirt path, making sure no one was around before he spoke quietly. "Heard Three and Four busted out over in Kalos and you still haven't found 'em." Privately, Seven was both envious of their success and hopeful that his two fellow hybrids could stay out of Unity's clutches. He'd never actually met either, but it felt like there was a kinship there. _Keep running, guys._

"You shouldn't even _be_ privy to that information, but yes, they did." Erik saw no reason to lie about it. "I'll repeat, don't go getting any bright ideas. There were mistakes made in the security at the facility that we don't plan to repeat." Johto was the boy's former homeland from the dossier on Seven Erik had been provided, Kanto's sister both geographically and spiritually, and Erik was already forming contingency plans in case they were unlucky enough to run into someone that recognized Seven even after three years, or the hybrid decided to try and make a break for the Tohjo Falls. Erik _already_ didn't like that they'd decided to give the boy a ready-made Johtoan identity- it would only make things easier for Seven.

 _Give me five seconds with that lighter and I'll be gone, too,_ Seven thought with a grin that he hid behind a grey-gloved gloved hand. He felt incredibly lucky that Unity had been stupid enough to assign a smoker to babysit him, and he'd act when the time was right. Patience wasn't normally a word in the hybrid's vocabulary, but he knew he'd have exactly one shot once he made his break for it, and Seven didn't plan to waste it. "Ehh, you have that stupid button," he pointed out with a roll of his eyes. "You don't have to worry." _Yet_.


	17. The Battle of Mossgreen, Part 1

Hope everyone continues to enjoy! Back to James and the boys. :)

* * *

"Right, that announcement from my friend should get their attention. Now, we need all the Pokémon returned to their Pokéballs and then the access code to all the training rooms, nice and easy if you please." Alice 'Ursaring' Thornton, recently promoted Team Snagem captain, gestured carefully with the small handgun she was currently holding towards the heartbeat of the Wild Training Center, the network of audio and visual equipment splayed across the back room that showed all parts of the facility from every angle. "We know there's at least a hundred Pokémon here, so start calling them all back here and getting them into their balls. Don't hold out on us, and don't try anything funny. You make this easy for us and we'll make it easy for you, but the reverse can _also_ very much hold true, understand?" She then turned her attention to one of the male grunts accompanying her who was wearing a red bandanna over his face. "[Go start rounding the trainers up and collecting their Pokémon as well. No rough stuff unless you absolutely have to,]" she finished sharply in Orrish before getting a nod and the young male grunt jogging out of the room, a few more men and women of various sizes and ages wearing similar red bandannas at his heels.

"You realize that you'll never get away with this. Even _if_ you remove the chips from the Pokémon and try to sell them, our area's Officer Jenny is no fool and the Joint League investigators are no slouches either. You'll only wind up finding out that the poaching laws here in Kanto and Johto are _very_ strict after you're all arrested." The man that had been manning the counter when they'd rushed the facility leveled a glare at Alice, not realizing just how close to the mark he was hitting with her right now.

"Don't make me have to get nasty, and keep the commentary to yourself unless you want to be gagged." _You have this, Alice. You'll be fine. You_ can't _fuck up your very first mission after finally getting promoted._ The brawny red-haired, blue-eyed Orrean woman had spent two years intensely studying League Common to the point of fluency specifically in order _to_ be promoted, and she _wasn't_ going to botch the first job she'd been entrusted with after being reassigned to Kanto. Team Snagem had decided to expand their reach west from Orre, muscling their way into some turf in Sinnoh, Johto and Kanto to start with to see how it went, the goal Pokémon poaching made easier and more efficient by using some of the now-defunct Cipher Corp's more... _illegal_ and underground tech.

Alice felt the still-strange weight of the device old Cipher documents referred to as a 'Snag Machine' resting on her left shoulder and spiraling around her arm before culminating in a strange, large, robotic hand tucked over the top of her own like a glove, wondering if the machine would perform as expected- they were manufactured on a best guess using the old specifications from what Alice had been told, so this first heist was a field test as well, a trial evaluating the new devices just as much as her leadership ability.

 _Deep breaths_ _, my little Teddiursa,_ came her mother's calming, gentle voice bubbling to the surface in her mind through the haze of dread, though she knew she couldn't let the Snagem members _or_ the caretakers she was currently holding hostage see her near-panic. _Steady_. _Focus on the rhythm._ _In. Out. In. Out._ "Access codes. We know they change every day." She hefted up the bound man off the floor and half-dragged, half-walked him over to a well-secured filing cabinet. "Open this filing cabinet, get the codes for us, and do...whatever you do to have the Pokémon come to the building. Just in case you're thinking of trying anything with an alarm, we have some lookouts outside and you _won't_ like what happens if we see the police start showing up."

Noah, the front desk attendant, shook his head and gave the burly woman holding on to his ropes a shrug. "You're going to have to untie either Akita or I, or at least our hands, to get that done- everything to do with the Pokémon storage and release is all based on the badges and fingerprints of whoever on our staff is scheduled to work for the day, and our resident Nurse Joy's badge and prints are _also_ needed to access several parts of our internal Pokémon Center."

"Yeah, we figured and we have someone dealing with her already. I'm going to untie your hands, but not your feet. Don't make me regret it." Alice untied Noah's hands, keeping her gun pressed as his back while he pressed his finger against the fingerprint scanner and started rifling through various files and paperwork, the attendant trying to drag this out as long as possible in the hopes that the panic button he'd managed to press would have the desired result soon. Alice's eyes flit between Noah's back while he worked and the screen in front of her, the Orrean wanting to keep an eye on the trainers and seeing which ones looked like potential trouble to warn her team about.

Wait...was that tanned kid in what was labelled Zone Three looking _right at_ one of the supposedly well-hidden security and monitoring cameras?

Alice's eyes narrowed as she studied the green-haired boy's curiosity-filled gaze, his eyes filling with excitement and the boy smiling before he turned his attention to another of the cameras, this time to his right. He then ran back to a well-dressed, blue-haired man and two other boys and started gesturing and pointing towards the cameras, the group beginning to hold an animated conversation. She flipped on the audio to be disappointed as she heard them faintly talking in what was very likely Kantai, frowning as she realized she couldn't understand them beyond a few words she'd picked up since moving to the region-state. This was something she had to fix _immediately_ , Alice carefully rotating her gun to her right towards the other currently bound caretaker, an older woman who'd been in the back room watching over the monitors when Snagem staged their takeover, Alice's narrowed eyes remaining fixed on the screen before she pressed the gun against the small of Noah's back again. "You. Translate, please." _I'm not sure I like this at all. They seem to be planning something._

"They've figured out that there are cameras and audio and are trying to locate more of them," the wiry, bespectacled older female reluctantly replied from her currently gently bound-hand-and-foot seat on the carpeted floor, the statement followed by a nervous swallow. "Right now, though, they're too far away to understand them without you turning on the microphones closer to them." She nodded her head in the general direction of a flat control panel a few feet to Alice's left. "That large yellow dial on the left there cycles through the different microphone sets. They should be closest to the third or fourth one." Akita decided to 'forget' to mention that there were a few _other_ things the group had said, since the Johtoan felt it was prudent to keep those particular things to herself. The knowing grin that briefly flitted into existence and was just as quickly suppressed on her Kantonian coworker's face told Akita _he'd_ overheard the rest of it, too, and was also also deciding to keep silent. Presenting a united front against a common foe was something the children of Kanto and Johto knew how to do exceedingly well, as some of the other region-states had learned over the course of history.

 _Pull Kanto's tail, get pierced by Johto's talons. Pluck Johto's wings, get raked by Kanto's claws._

Alice located the dial and turned the dial as per the other woman's directions, the Orrean frowning as only silence greeted her. "What's wrong with this equipment? I _really_ hope you haven't given me incorrect instructions on purpose. You're an elder, and I don't wish to harm you any further than I've been forced to." Her answer quickly came when Alice caught sight on the screen of a cute, small, fuzzy, blue and white Pokémon with a long, fluffy tail she didn't recognize chewing on the cabling with a happy smile on its face next to a more serious-looking Pikachu engaged similarly, their cheeks sparking and flashing in unison for a few moments before the visual feed cut out, too. _Electric-types used to chew through the power cables...clever,_ very _clever._ Unfortunately, this also caused some panic again for the Orrean, Alice taking three or four deep, slow breaths before pulling out a burner cellphone. "[They've started cutting the power and audio so I can't watch things for you anymore. Be very careful, but we're still proceeding with the plan for now.]"

"Excuse me," came a strange, new young-sounding girl's voice in Common behind her after Alice felt a tap on her shoulder out of nowhere, the Orrean whirling around to come face to face with a girl that looked no older than sixteen, her purple eyes hard and her outfit some kind of black one-piece, sleeveless suit accented with purple that was loose around the legs and tight on top and topped off with a long, flowing purple silk scarf that was almost to the girl's legs. As Alice finished taking her in, she was baffled at the girl's temerity. Alice realized she couldn't point the gun at the girl and _also_ control the currently untied worker who'd been rifling through the files. Alice's mind scrambled, panicked and spit out the first thing it could think of, followed by Alice voicing the thought aloud.

"Get back or I'll shoot all three of you!"

The purple-haired teen's confident bearing wasn't shaken by Alice's threat, her voice full of command and authority as she replied, a Mega Beedrill quickly entering the control room and flitting at the girl's side, wings humming ominously and studying Alice while clearly also paying attention to its trainer. "I'm Gym Leader Janine Akagi of Fuchsia City. Under the authority vested in me by the Joint League I hereby place you and your associates _all_ under arrest for assault and battery, kidnapping, attempted poaching of Pokémon and malicious interference with sanctioned League operations, for starters." Janine's eyes narrowed threateningly. "I'm _also_ required to warn you that as a Gym Leader, some of my Pokémon are both trained _and_ sanctioned to assist with human capture." The girl's head tilted slightly in the Mega Beedrill's direction, the Pokémon adjusting itself so its large abdominal stinger was pointing directly at Alice. "Are you going to all come quietly, or are Sasu and the rest of my team going to have to start playing rough?"

* * *

"Nice work, Deecee and Pikachu! That should work to stop the cameras!" Ash cheered the two Electric-types on before Deecee let out a happy chirp and returned to his usual perch on Tracey's shoulder, Pikachu offering Ash a small, but genuine smile as well as he returned to the raven-haired boy's side after Deecee translated for him. "What's next, James? We gotta try and stop 'em!"

James nodded and glanced around. "Right. We can presume that they're here to steal the Pokémon from what they said, both the center's _and_ ours, so our next move will be trying to find any other trainers here that we can to band together with. There's strength in numbers, especially since we have no idea how many of this 'Snag 'Em' group that there are." James was _also_ hoping that the power cables being interfered with might possibly raise an alarm somewhere external that would send the police or the League to investigate as well. _Seems the rumors we've been hearing about a new, organized group involved in the Pokémon poaching game were_ _right._ "Stay close, and let's move after I patch Bandit up because I'm sure they've taken over the Pokémon Center too."

At least this _did_ also provide James a chance to see how the boys responded when things went sideways, since with his duties on behalf of Team Rocket there was _always_ a chance of that happening even with how careful he was, and so far James liked how they were handling it. All three seemed to be remaining mostly calm, and Tracey had impressed him with the suggestion that there must be some kind of monitoring in the facility since the Pokémon roamed freely, then almost immediately finding two of the cameras when he began looking. Gary and Ash had done equally well in James' eyes by coming up with the idea of asking Deecee and Pikachu to zap and overload the cameras after they were found so they couldn't be seen, James only tweaking the idea slightly by asking the two Pokémon to chew through the cabling instead to make sure the audio was cut out as well.

Bandit was fully back on his feet and recuperating after a few spritzes of Hyper Potion from James' supplies, the mix of medicinal herbs and sterilizing agent in the very potent and _also_ very expensive potion going to work almost immediately to start healing the Krookodile's external injuries from his spar. He adjusted his bandanna and gave James the best 'thumbs up' gesture he could manage with his three claws before James returned him, not wanting to risk Bandit straining himself while the potion did its job.

Gary looked for exits to the other parts of the facility, noticing large double doors to the north and east that were labelled as leading to different micro-climates. "Which direction should we go? It seems like we're the only ones in this part of the place, but there's doors over there and over there. Maybe we could find some of the other trainers in the other areas."

The same voice from the loudspeaker then issued from the group's left after the quartet starting moving towards the front of the facility. "YO! Hand over the Pokémon an' no one gets hurt."

" _No._ " Ash was the first to respond almost immediately and with great emphasis, gently scooping Pikachu up into his arms and giving the lithe brunette man that had given the order a defiant frown. James just studied the group of four thugs nonchalantly, squarely planting himself between the younger trio and the thugs while Tracey and Gary held Deecee and Eevee in equally soft, but protective hugs, Pikachu and Eevee both emitting low rumbles of discontent, their eyes narrowed and ears pinned. Eevee and Pikachu didn't need to understand the human chatter to feel the tension filling the room and sense the unkind energy emanating from the bandanna'd group. So far the humans and Pokémon they'd joined up with, though unwillingly on Pikachu and Eevee's parts at first, had been safe and kindhearted, something neither had ever experienced before, and the two quickly exchanged a nod between themselves. _We'll protect them if it comes down to it._

"Hate ta break it to ya kid, but you're gonna _have_ to. This little baby means you won't have a choice!" The man gave a feral grin before raising his left hand, the Snag Machine on his arm shining before he tossed a strange-looking Pokéball at Pikachu, the ball spinning rapidly before hitting the electric mouse squarely in the center of his forehead...and falling to the floor lifelessly.

"Um...was that supposed to _do_ something?" Gary cocked an eyebrow before another of the grunts tossed a Pokéball right at Eevee's head with similar results, Eevee snarling and snapping at the air where the ball had been before Gary managed to soothe him, the Snagem members now seeming a bit panicked as two of them even removed the devices and started quickly studying them, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"And _now_ ," stated James in a quiet, even tone that was filled with venom, "you've just attempted to poach or deliberately harm the Pokémon belonging to the children I'm guarding. I was waiting for you to do something stupid like that. Thank you." He then opened his coat and released his entire team with a single, well-practiced snap of his belt, the Pokémon realizing they'd all been released at once and turning to James before immediately forming a tight semicircle around James, Ash, Gary and Tracey and squarely facing the five Snagem members, Growlie and Bandit both baring their fangs menacingly. "You've just given me the legal right to stop you by _any means_ short of outright killing you." James then raised his finger and pointed at the Snagem group. "[Attack, but only to disable them,]" he finished in Kanto Kantai, his Pokémon leaping forward at their master and friend's command.

Seeing the rest of the pack wade into the fray made Pikachu and Eevee's minds up- both gently wriggled out of their respective human's grasps and leapt forward as well. "[THE ONE THAT TOSSED THAT BALL AT US IS MINE!]" Eevee declared loudly as he and Pikachu both started choosing targets amongst the bandanna'd humans, Eevee quickly honing in on the skinny human that had tossed _one of those things_ at him and Pikachu and delivering a few sound bites to the man's legs. Tracey had also released Scyther, who had immediately started slicing rapidly at the Snagem grunts, forcing them to start moving backwards and away.

"[THE MACHINES DIDN'T WORK! WE DIDN'T BRING ANY POKÉMON WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO D-]" The panicked Snagem member's loud Orrish was cut short by a very angered Houndoom leaping in towards him and joining the fray, carefully holding her jaws around his throat after taking him down to the ground.

A familiar voice cried out commands in Sinnosian over the din of James' Pokémon routing the Snagem grunts. "[Circe, _hold him_! Good girl! Aphrodite, spread some Sleep Powder around, but be careful to not knock us out too!]" A large Vileplume lumbered her way over and shook her head, fine white powder filling the air near the Snagem grunts after James called his team back so they wouldn't be affected. The bandannas didn't filter the air well enough to resist the oncoming slumber, the intruders falling asleep despite some of them actively trying to run away.

"Hey guys, are you all OK?" Karen was mounted bareback on Star by the entrance to the room, the Ponyta looking around on full alert and clearly ready to kick or bite anyone that came near them that Karen didn't welcome."Wanna help us take the rest of these jerks down? Amelia and I were trying to find some other trainers, these Snag 'em guys are all over this place."

"You bet! Let's do it!" Ash cried, pumping his fist in air as Tracey and Gary both nodded firmly.

James couldn't help a grin at that. "Yes, why don't we do that after we tie this lot up?"


	18. Interlude 2: The Letter

I hope everyone continues to enjoy!

* * *

James decided to finally sit down and read the rather thick letter that Delia had presented him the day that they'd left on their trip, the exhausted boys and their Pokémon dozing contentedly in their three respective tents while James stood vigil overnight. They'd made some more headway towards Cerulean, and James was hoping that they'd make it in the next day or two. James wanted to pay a visit to a Wild Training Center on the way to help gauge Eevee and Pikachu's fighting prowess before guiding Ash to, hopefully, earning his first Badge of his journey, the Cascade Badge. The group of sisters that ran the Cerulean City Gym were known to be beautiful and also tough, but fair competitors and the Gym one of the better ones to start your journey out with, unless you happened to be heavy on a type that was weak against Water.

For now the group was camped out for the night just off the road in sight of James' convertible and the trailer, a small metal pot of hot water on to boil over a gently roaring campfire to help keep James supplied with the hot water that he needed for his tea, one of the tastes that he'd picked up from his Galaran grandparents along with most of his choices in clothing despite growing up in Kanto. He carefully slid open the envelope and extracted the contents, realizing that this was going to be _quite_ a read judging by the amount of pages and deciding to prepare a cup of tea before he started tucking in to Delia's tale.

 _James,_

 _Thank you again for taking care of my two sons and their new friend Tracey on this journey. I hope this letter finds you, the boys and everyone's Pokémon well, and I hope you have some coffee or tea or something to keep you awake handy. This will be a very long letter, and I apologize, but all of it is necessary to fully understand everything, I promise._

 _Ash is the light of my life, and I don't regret a single day of my pregnancy or raising him as best I could on my own, giving up my apartment and moving out to Pallet Town to take over the family diner here. There are things about his family lineage, though, that may reveal themselves in the future, and that's what I'm going to try my best and explain to you and prepare you for._ _I think I'll begin with Rota and the Guardian of the Aura festival for some background. A quick summary of things in case you don't know Rota's history will be important, because Rota's past directly ties into Ash's future and the abilities he's likely to gain down the road._

 _Rota, in the far north of Kanto, was an independent kingdom of its own for a very long time, though always very friendly with Kanto. In fact, Rota still retains and preserves a lot of its customs and architecture from before they properly joined with Kanto, and Kanto even specially classes Rota as their own 'region-hold' instead of a city and permits them to have a sovereign Queen and/or King to this day. The important part about their history is that they hold a large festival every year known as 'The Crowning of the Hero' or 'The Guardian of the Aura Festival' to celebrate and commemorate a legendary hero known as 'The True Guardian of Aura' who gave his life to stop a massive battle between two armies several hundred years ago that would have had Rota directly caught in the middle of it if the Guardian hadn't intervened. Everyone dresses up in clothes that were common for Rota during the time period, and there's even a Pokémon tournament held to crown 'The Hero of the Year' in the Guardian's honor during the event._

 _Well, what I can tell you that most don't know is that Rota's 'True Guardian of Aura' was no myth or legend, but a very real man, and his name was Sir Aaron Winterthorne. This is where Ash's story begins, with very distant relations dating back hundreds of years._

 _Sir Aaron had a girlfriend, though this wasn't known to many because he was trying to protect her from the rest of his family, who had another woman in mind for him. He unknowingly left her behind with child when he sacrificed himself to end the conflict, and Dahlia Terrenson entered the world into her mother Allison's loving arms_ _seven months after Aaron's departure_ _. The Winterthorne clan rejected Dahlia and Allison for almost twelve years, refusing to even let Dahlia carry their name. Dahlia, though, started to exhibit the special abilities the Winterthornes carried in their blood- the ability to see, manipulate and manifest what's usually called Aura. Have you ever seen a Lucario use Aura Sphere in battle, or moves like Focus Blast or Force Palm? That's Aura in action, weaponized offensively. It's been described to me as the very force of life itself, the energy of all living beings, and I believe the man that told me implicitly._

"Interesting," James murmured quietly, Aria and Growlie turning their heads in his direction at his utterance before going back to their rounds after they realized he was talking to himself, not issuing commands. This was something that James had already decided to _not_ report to his boss, at least for now- this was something deeply personal for Delia to reveal, he could tell already, and besides there was no way to know for sure that Ash would develop these 'Aura abilities', right? _Right_. James could mentally justify the selective omission to himself on those grounds.

 _Over time, there were a few 'branch families' like the Terrensons that also had Aura abilities granted to them through Winterthorne blood or distant Winterthorne relations as generations passed, but the Winterthornes and their direct descendants, the 'main-line family' so to speak, have always been considered the strongest Aura users. A certain twenty-five year old Terrenson decided to sneak out and see the festival fifteen years ago at the same time that I'd finally decided at twenty to do a bit of exploring around Kanto and see the festival for myself, and that's when we met and fell in love._

 _That Terrenson was Benjamin, and as soon as our eyes met during the festival it was as if there was no one else but us there, the rest of the world not even existing around our orbit. He was married and had a young child, though, something Benjamin was immediately up front about, and hurting or deceiving his wife was a line we both steadfastly refused to cross. There were glances and conversation but nothing more, not even holding hands as much as we both desired it. We also kept things entirely in public, a few fleeting meetings that neither of us allowed to go on too long for fear of compromising ourselves. Benjamin is how I know so much of the Winterthornes and the family history, and Aura as well, but you probably guessed that by now. When the festival ended, I knew it was for the best for me to head back to Saffron City as soon as possible, far away from Rota before Benjamin or I cracked and did something we couldn't take back, irrevocably harming his family._

 _A year later, I suddenly found myself drawn back to the festival. I had debated never returning to Rota again, but to this day I swear Mew themselves gently took my hand and led me there. This was when I first met his wife Anise, with the now five year old boy at her side I knew was Benjamin's the instant I laid eyes on him before I made a point of wandering over and starting some small talk- he was the absolute, younger spitting image of his father. He was introduced to me as Riley, and when I met them both, I was very glad that Benjamin and I didn't give in. Anise was a sweet, kind woman who would never have deserved it, and Riley was absolutely adorable as well, with a happy little Riolu he and Anise called Shadow because he was always at Riley's side._

 _Yes, Riley is Ash's half-brother, older by eight years and a few months, though I'm again sure you've figured that out._

James tilted his head and narrowed his eyes a bit at this. _Should_ he try and do some subtle research on this 'Riley Terrenson' on his own? He decided against making a choice on the matter until he'd read the letter in full.

 _Of course, I couldn't help but notice Benjamin wasn't with them, somehow so present by his absence, and I thought that was that, relieved in a way at not having to deal with the temptation again. I left after the festival, spotting and chatting with Anise and Riley a few more times while I was there, satisfied that Benjamin and I had both made the right choice and fully ready to move on with my life without him. I headed home to Saffron again, back to my daily routine and content that, as much as my heart hurt, things were as they should be._

 _Two years later, I actually got a letter from Anise of all people, and that really surprised me. The exact details I'm going to keep to myself out of respect to her, but we can sum it up with Anise, Benjamin and I having a long discussion a few weeks later, and Ash being conceived six months after that, the best accident that ever happened to me. Unfortunately, Anise had passed on by then, and Benjamin had gone into hiding with Riley before I actually realized I was pregnant. I didn't understand why Benjamin decided to vanish and suddenly cut off contact at the time, but after Riley visited me several years later with his now-Lucario Shadow by his side, I began to understand. Benjamin and Anise always told me that his family had 'issues', and I think he simply didn't want to risk me being dragged into things with Anise gone and him trying to keep him and Riley hidden. He was always unhappy enough that Riley was going to have to deal with them, honestly, and I wasn't overly surprised when he decided for the two of them to lay low for a while._

 _From what Riley told me during his surprise visit five years ago, Benjamin's been missing so long that he's been legally declared dead, and Riley's been pursued off and on by what he claims are not only some members of his own extended family, but also members of an insane group based out of Sinnoh calling themselves 'Team Galactic' due to being the last of the main Winterthorne bloodline. Or the last as far as THEY know, I should say, for obvious reasons. Riley suspects it's because of the Aura abilities I've mentioned earlier, that there's some purpose Galactic wants to use either his blood or his abilities for, and he's using a false identity that I don't feel comfortable disclosing without his permission. I do have a way to contact him if an emergency comes up, but he asked me to contact him as little as possible._

 _One last request: Please burn this letter after you read it, and tell Ash nothing of this for now. Riley really wants to try and keep Ash out of the spotlight because of Team Galactic (and also out of having to get 'entangled in my family's politics', Riley's exact words.) Ash still has no idea that he has a brother, and I'd also like to explain this all face to face with Ash when and if the time comes, preferably with Riley present so he can answer any questions about Aura Ash may have. I also wouldn't want this information falling into the wrong hands, for reasons I hope are very obvious. If Ash does start to manifest any abilities, please let me know as soon as possible. From what Riley's told me, it should be very obvious when and if it happens._

James glanced at the roaring campfire in front of him, took another sip of his tea, decided that it _was_ a touch cold indeed and more kindling was called for, carefully re-folding and placing the letter back in the envelope before expertly tossing it into the merrily roaring blaze, Delia's carefully printed Kantai licked playfully by the fire before slowly vanishing into smoke, flame and embers.


	19. The Battle of Mossgreen, Part 2

And back to the action! :) I hope everyone continues to enjoy!

* * *

"Let us in! We _know_ you're in there, Nurse, and so are lots of Pokémon!" Two of the Snagem grunts were attempting a break-in of the Pokémon Center within the Training Center as per the plan they'd devised, the pair pounding ineffectually on the heavy metal shutters that were barricading the entrance doors and all of the windows shut. _This_ was something they hadn't counted on.

" _Bliss_ ey bliss bliss _ey_ blisseyyyyyyy _bliss_." The only response from inside the tightly shuttered Center issued from what sounded to be a _very_ annoyed, angered Blissey, her message clear in her tone: _You're_ not _getting in here, humans_.

A trim, black-haired woman named Makira tilted her head thoughtfully as she studied the shutters before quirking an eyebrow and muttering to the man next to her in muffled Orrish thanks to the black bandanna she was wearing over her mouth. "[Think the nurse in there even _knows_ Common, Dietrich?]"

"[Of course- she's a League employee, they _gotta_ know Common to get hired. And _don't use our names,_ idiot! There's audio and video recording out the ass in these training places.]" Dietrich, the self-appointed leader, adjusted his own mask and gave Makira a withering look before turning his attention back to the shutters and addressing the Nurse Joy behind the secured walls again. " _Open up_ or we're gonna start using our Pokémon to get rid of those shutters!"

"Hey, you jerks! _Stop that_!" A young girl's voice issued from behind them followed by grass-muffled hoof beats, Karen charging in on Star with Lily loosely hanging from her neck. "Leave the Center alone! There's only sick and injured Pokémon in there!"

Dietrich snorted. "Trying to play the hero, huh little girl?" He then tossed two Pokéballs and released a Cubone and Natu. "[Get 'em, boys! I want a Bone Club and Peck _now,_ get her offa that Ponyta.]" The pair of Pokémon reluctantly started charging towards Karen and Star, neither really feeling it was sporting to attack the Ponyta while their fellow 'mon had his human on his back, but _also_ not wanting to risk the ire of the man that had Pokénapped them a while ago.

Lily uncurled herself from around Karen's neck and hovered squarely in front of Karen and Star to protect them both, a determined expression on her face as she prepared to face the two 'mon charging them. "FEY!"

"[Vine Whip them both, Lily!]" The Comfey immediately obeyed, snapping her long, flower-covered vine towards the Cubone before turning her attention to the Natu and attempting the same. She managed to connect with the slower Cubone but not the speedier Natu, Cubone stumbling a bit at the impact of the vines as he managed to endure the highly effective attack, though just barely, letting out a cry of pain before ineffectually swinging wildly at Lily and missing her altogether.

"My Natu's really gonna put the hurt on your little flower there," Dietrich began with a smirk, switching to Common to mock Karen as the Natu's beak connected with Lily's head...who barely seemed to notice it, just letting out an angry 'Com!' before flying away from the small Pokémon and squaring up again.

"She may _look_ like a Grass-type and have a Grass-type attack, but she's not," Karen replied with a smirk of her own as Star carefully shifted under her to face the battle. The Ponyta's head and ears swiveled in all directions to keep an eye and ear out for anyone trying to sneak up on him or Karen, his flames burning brightly even as he kept his mane and back cooled down for Karen's sake.

Dietrich laughed. "Well in that case maybe I'll get my friend here to help. Your Ponyta seems a little _busy_ right now, and I doubt that little 'mon you're using can take on four Pokémon at once." He snapped his fingers, Makira rolling her eyes but beginning to reach for her own Pokémon.

" _That_ doesn't sound like a very fair fight," Ash interjected suddenly from the bushes, popping out from the hidden maintenance path along with Eevee and Pikachu on either side of him. _I hope that they're both_ really _okay with battling, but it seems like they want to help out._ Ash still hadn't had that conversation- or as much of a conversation as he could manage considering the language barrier- with the pair, but they both seemed to be sizing up the situation and their potential opponents, Pikachu's left ear and Eevee's right ear respectively both turned towards Ash and intent expressions on their faces. "Pikachu, Eevee, Thunder Shock and Tackle the Natu!"

Pikachu's eyes widened as he realized that he'd not only somehow perfectly understood which of his attacks Ash wanted him to use, but he could also physically _feel_ some kind of energy pulse through him, a gentle, almost encouraging and warm burst of power surging through his veins after Ash had issued his instructions. _Whoa, what_ is _this?_ He could tell from a quick glance at his friend that Eevee had something similar happen and was also a bit stunned, though both shook it off and completed their attacks, Pikachu unleashing some of his stored electricity towards the Natu and Eevee waiting until it was safe before firmly pouncing on the Natu himself, using his body and the momentum generated by his charge to smack the Natu into the soft, grassy soil with a dull thud. Natu lay there unconscious after the pair of attacks, Dietrich recalling him with an annoyed grunt.

Karen decided to take advantage of the distraction. "Lily, take Cubone out with another Vine Whip!" Already weakened greatly, the Cubone was in no shape to try and even avoid the attack this time, dropping his bone and falling to the ground with a thud as soon as the Comfey finished her attack.

"What're you still just _standing there_ for? Help out already!" Dietrich barked.

Makira shook her head in disgust. "Bailing you out yet again. This seems to be becoming a regular thing." She quickly released a Sneasel and Mankey, the two quickly getting into sparring stances. "Pin the Eevee and-" She was interrupted mid-sentence by a new voice on the speaker, an older-sounding woman this time who spoke only two words in Johto Kantai.

"[Code Hoothoot.]"

The grass and sky suddenly exploded with various flurries of activity, sound and several firm-sounding Pokémon cries, several of the training center's 'mon that had been hiding in the area around them revealing themselves and charging off in various directions with clear intent and destinations in mind. The sights and sounds struck the humans present and their Pokémon dumb for a moment or two, the group somewhat stunned as they took the sights and sounds in.

"What did she say?!" Dietrich demanded of both Karen and Ash, raising his fist in anger. "What the fuck did she just _do_?"

Ash and Karen exchanged a momentary glance and smiles, knowing that the announcement and coded message likely meant that James and the others had succeeded into getting into the Training Center's main office and liberating the employees from Snag 'Em's grasp. "Dunno," replied Ash with a nonchalant shrug and grin. "But you guys probably won't wanna stick around for much longer. The Pokémon _sure_ look like they mean business."

* * *

"Good morning, and welcome to Pallet House!" Delia bowed to her two new guests, the pair of faces unfamiliar to her though new faces weren't uncommon this time of year; the summer to early fall _was_ the most common time of year for fresh trainers to start their journeys, after all, due to the generally more cooperative weather for travelling. "I'm Delia, and I'll be your chef and waitress this morning."

"Thank you," Erik replied smoothly, looking around the small diner and only spying one other person, an elderly man partaking of a delicious-looking traditional breakfast in Kanto or Johto, the meal consisting of rice, natto, miso soup and a piece of grilled tofu along with a small pot of green tea. "We were just passing through the forest and someone pointed us your way for a good breakfast."

Seven looked around and took a good sniff of the air, his stomach grumbling appreciatively as he took in the various scents lingering in the diner. "Sure smells good in here." He reluctantly followed Erik and settled in at one of the booths, Seven already setting a napkin aside to tuck some away for Recca later.

"Here's some menus for you, and we have a breakfast special too that's right on the front page. I'll be right back with some water, would either of you like something else to drink?" After Erik shook his head without even consulting Seven, Delia headed back into the kitchen.

The elderly man hid a sly grin behind his newspaper as he carefully angled a Pokénav in Erik and Seven's direction through a tiny hole in his paper and tapped the camera button before attaching the photo to a text. **Well, well, well, look who I'm sharing a certain diner with here in sleepy little Pallet Town. SOMEONE'S ordered his favorite errand boy to Kanto, three guesses as to why and the first two don't count. Never seen the boy with him before, though.**

Domino's brow arched skyward under her expertly applied latex mask as she took in Giovanni's reply. **Would have been surprised if someone besides Erik was sent. See if you can get a picture of the boy without the sunglasses, will you?** Her artificially wrinkled and liver-spotted hand smoothly slid under her jacket before Domino opened a Luxury Ball under the table in a swift, practiced motion. Domino then turned her foot sharply towards the table Erik and the boy were sitting at as she tucked the ball back away, feeling her partner's expectant gaze on her from under the table after she softly tapped the top of Domino's turned foot in silent indication that the targets had been locked on to and she was ready to receive her orders. "Get the sunglasses off the kid, need pictures," Domino murmured to Kuro in her disguised voice.

"Cino," came the equally quiet reply before a Cinccino slunk out from under the table, wearing a very serious expression that suddenly brightened as she came fully into view, letting out a loud cry and playfully bounding towards the table she'd been pointed towards. "CIN CINCCINOOOOOOOOO!" Kuro made a point of leaping for Erik first to make it look good, Domino muttering ineffectually to 'knock that off now, get back here' in the background and becoming a bumbling older man as she slooooooooooowly got out of her seat and started shuffling towards the chaos, waving her cane halfheartedly as Kuro madly scrambled all over Erik's head and shoulders.

"[GET YOUR POKÉMON UNDER CONTROL!]" Erik yelled firmly as he popped up out of his seat, slipping into his native Sinnosian out of surprise as he tried to grab the slippery Kuro. The Cinccino grabbed the glasses off of Erik's face then bound over to a still seated, loudly laughing Ethan, nabbing his sunglasses from him as well before she retreated back under the table that Domino had been eating at.

"So sorry about this, both of you, he loves shiny things _far_ too much." Domino then shook her stick again, getting her Pokénav into position in the folds of her newspaper and snapping a few shots of Seven's bare face in the process of crouching down. "Dorobo, give those glasses back to these nice people _right now_! I can't take you _anywhere_ outside of your Pokéball, can I?" Kuro acted her part and 'reluctantly' gave up her prizes, half-shoving them out from her hiding place before fully retreating back under the table, sulking and muttering to herself huffily after the scolding. "Here you are. Sorry again, and please let me pay for your meals, at least." Domino handed the pair their respective glasses back.

"Don't worry about it. It was really funny, actually." The boy was still snickering, ignoring the momentary, icy glare Erik shot his way as he waved his hand dismissively, still shaking a bit with suppressed laughter as he placed his sunglasses back on and wandered back over to the table they'd been sitting at.

Erik cleaned his glasses and added "If you can't fully control your Pokémon, don't have them out of their Pokéball in a public place like this" darkly before walking back over to the table himself, Delia walking out of the kitchen to take the pair's order. Domino slowly got up and into her seat with her mission accomplished, attaching the best photo she'd managed to get of the kid's face to a new text after she settled back behind her newspaper.

 **Here he is. Really get the feeling there's not much love lost between those two from what I'm seeing, wonder why he's sticking around?** Domino sent the picture off before slipping Kuro a few bites of food and one of her favorite Deluxe Citrus PokéPuffs as a reward for playing her role so well, content churrs and munching noises telling her that Kuro had fully settled in to her meal after a few seconds.

 **That silver collar around his neck is the answer.** **He has to be another hybrid, like Black. For now, tail them because they're almost certainly after Gary and try not to directly interfere unless it becomes necessary. We can't help the boy until we can get that collar removed anyhow, and with luck I should know a great deal more about both the hybrids and those collars shortly.**

Domino smirked and quickly replied. **I thought you didn't believe in luck?**

 **In this case luck will be necessary, because I may learn quite a bit, or I may learn nothing at all. It all depends on the memories they've permitted Black to retain.**

"Huh, interesting," Domino quietly muttered in her old-man voice before she tucked back into her meal, half-keeping one ear out as Delia took the other two's orders and delivered their breakfasts a short time later. She'd finally managed to overhear a (very likely fake) name attached to the boy while they were ordering, and made a mental note to get the information to Giovanni later. As Domino knew all too well from wearing and shedding identities like they were clothing, it was _very_ hard to move around between the region-states without proper identification that held up to at times fairly rigorous inspection, so that fake name would likely tie back to a shell corporation or maybe even, Reshiram willing, a _real_ person that Team Rocket could dig into. **_Ethan. Probably fake. Last name?_ **was quickly typed as a note in her Pokénav to herself.

"...Gym Challenge?" Ah, _there_ were some words that fully piqued Domino's interest, the Unovan expat now fully tuning in to the conversation a few tables away as 'Ethan' finished asking whatever Erik had likely directed him to ask. _Trying to pick up the Oak kid's trail since he's travelling with a new trainer, eh? I see what you're doing._

"Oh! Well, depending on your Pokémon, we have a couple Gyms that are pretty close," Delia replied to Ethan with a smile as she finished laying their breakfasts out. "The closest ones to us would be either Viridian City, which focuses on Ground-types, or Cinnabar Island, almost directly south of us by boat- they train Fire-types. The next two closest after that would be Pewter or Fuchsia, Rock and Poison specialists respectively. From what I've heard from the trainers passing through, though, I'd stay away from the Viridian Gym if you're just starting out."

"What about for an Electric-type? Rock and Ground would probably give her a tough time." Seven tilted his head, having to force himself to not roll his eyes at Erik's prompting glances. _Yeah, yeah._

"Well, in that case you'd probably want to challenge the Cerulean City Gym first, though they're a little farther out- they're Water trainers." Delia, ironically enough, refilled their water as she chatted. "My son started out with a Pikachu himself, in fact, so that's the first Badge his guardian is having him go after."

"Oh? Your son's started his quest as well?" Erik offered a polite smile. "Well, perhaps we'll head that way as well and run into him. What's his name?"

"Ash- Ash Ketchum." Domino could hear the pride and love in Delia's tone as the other woman replied. "He's travelling with a couple friends of his and his guardian."

Domino smirked with satisfaction as she finished her meal and waited to surreptitiously follow Erik and Ethan out, certain that since they'd gotten what they were after that the pair wouldn't linger long after they finished their own food. Kuro finished her meal and slinked up onto the booth next to Domino, giving her partner a Look as she noticed Domino's sly expression. _Bingo. Next stop, Cerulean City._ Sure enough, the other two paid for their meal and left almost immediately after getting that information, Domino nodding her head to Kuro as they gave the pair a slight lead ahead of them before leaving a pile of Pokédollars on the table and exiting Pallet House themselves.


	20. A Meeting of the Minds

I hope everyone continues to enjoy! Time for the introduction of what will become a major, continuous B-plot and the wrap-up of the Battle of Mossgreen after this! Thanks so much for the follows and favorites, and special shout-out to SilverRockets for being an incredibly supportive and faithful reviewer!

* * *

"I am here, as agreed." An icy blue eye met equally chilly sky blue ones after the harsh, deep greeting, the damp, freezing early mountain air electrified with power and pressure that seemed to dance between the lightly swirling snowflakes. The gentle sounds of snow falling from a few tree branches and the wind seemed to be the pair's only other company, the two of them far from any Keepers or other 'mon. Even the single nearby Keeper dwelling that Darkrai had spied on the way had looked dark and lifeless, the Keeper likely away. Darkrai glanced around at the ancient ruins after they finished their curt greeting, wondering if their suspicions were wrong. Not only had the other known about the ruins, they had known of the deepest, most sacred parts of it, of the large triangular platform deep inside the ruins that the Alpha was _still_ somewhat bound to.

Perhaps the Creator really _had_ returned to them after all? Either way, Darkrai would finally have their answers after the other dodging a meeting for almost two full cycles of the moon.

"Thank you for coming. I know it was a long trip for you, and I hope that I can persuade you to see reason like the others that have joined me." The other's pink muzzle then slightly wrinkled in either ire or impatience, and Darkrai felt their earlier misgivings about their fellow 'mon bubble right back to the surface. "Can't we do this telepathically? I know you can, if you wanted to."

 _I somehow knew they would bring that up._ Darkrai had already decided to refuse the request to give up their innate protections from the mental intrusions and powers of 'mon of the mind. The place of darkness in the Great Balance was to keep 'mon of the mind and those that had yet to fully pass on in their places when the need arose, but those of the darkness could willingly suppress their innate mental guards if they needed or desired to. "I will _not_ make myself vulnerable to you until I know you are truly the Creator. I am aware of what you claim to our kin, that you were captured and unable to assist during the Great Illness, but you seem to have... _changed_ since your return."

Darkrai could only come to one, rather unsettling, conclusion after noticing the expression on the other's face after their rejection: _They_ really _don't like that they can't simply read my mind._ It only increased Darkrai's unease, Darkrai already finding themselves taking mental notes of nearby shadows they could safely slip into should the need arise. They then floated slightly closer to the other. Yes, that was _definitely_ anger on the Creator's face and flashing in their eyes- if it _was_ the Creator.

"I've _told_ you I am. I've proven myself to several of the others, haven't I?" Their tone was superior, almost haughty, as they floated towards the entrance to the ruins, their long, pink tail whipping back and forth violently in the snow and gentle breeze before they turned back towards Darkrai. "The humans stripped _almost_ everything from me while they had me trapped in that prison, but I'm still me."

" _Some_ of our kin believe you, yes, those that you could freely manipulate with your abilities. Don't think I've failed to notice that you've _also_ been avoiding the Deathbringer, my brother in darkness." Darkrai finally decided to perform a test they'd been planning for a while since it was finally just the two of them. If the other was _truly_ the Creator, molded into being by the Alpha even before Darkrai themselves, then they could, and _should_ , pass Darkrai's test easily. If they _weren't_ , well..."[ _Can you understand this at all_?] _"_ Darkrai inquired in what their kin called the Old Tongue, the first language that Pokémon had ever orally communicated in countless eons ago. Darkrai had their answer when the 'Creator' just stared at them dumbly before their eyes filled with a momentary flash of apprehension, and then malice. _As I thought._ That's _why they've been avoiding meeting those of us among the First alone._ "You, whatever and whoever you are, wear their face and voice, but you are _not_ Mew, the Creator," Darkrai finished, pointing a long, clawed finger at the other accusingly and no longer masking the contempt in their tone.

" _Yes I am_." A chaotic burst of violent intent that Darkrai could almost _feel_ suddenly exploded around Mew, Darkrai actually slightly knocked back by the sheer force of it. When the snow that was spit up from the release cleared, Mew's fur had become a seafoam green color all over and their eyes had deepened several shades of blue, their tail even longer and now splitting for the last couple of feet, the split portion of Mew's tail twirling around each other tightly and forming a helix shape. Raw power now radiated off of Mew in waves, Darkrai's eyes widening as they took in the spectacle and immediately realizing the significance. This sudden, sustained surge of power could have only one source, and the drastic change in Mew's appearance after the energy had finished its work confirmed Darkrai's deepest suspicions- and fears.

Mew had _Bonded_. Darkrai knew their only chance of a victory now, even _with_ their innate advantage, was to hope to the Alpha that Mew's Bond was incomplete, because if it _was_ complete he didn't stand a Chimchar's chance on Mount Coronet.

"And _now_ that you've pushed me to this point, you're going to have to _conveniently disappear_ just like Victini did. I'm trying to keep this little secret under my paw for now after all, wouldn't look too good to the others of the First _or_ the Later if they knew I'd Bonded after the things I've been saying." Mew tilted their head almost primly before their eyes narrowed threateningly and began to illuminate, quickly glowing white with power. "Victini _also_ asked too many questions and threw around very _unnecessary_ and untrue accusations, planting _seditious_ ideas in our kin's heads. Just because I've forgotten some things during my captivity thanks to the humans' meddling does _not_ mean I'm lying."

Darkrai found themselves closing their eyes for a moment, reopening them and fully focusing on their opponent, now preparing for a fight that they knew would _not_ end in the usual polite knockout between sparring partners. _So you_ were _behind the Victorybringer's vanishing after all._ Darkrai was fairly certain that Mew fully intended to remove _them_ from the equation now as well after revealing things so openly, Darkrai cursing themselves mentally for falling into the other's trap so very easily _especially_ since the meeting had been requested by Darkrai themselves in the first place. _I'm a fool, no, more than a fool_. _They_ _probably lured Victini to a place to meet alone so there were no witnesses, just like they've done with me._ Darkrai knew they could hold their own against most their kin among the First, but a Bonded one... _that_ was a chance Darkrai felt it was very unwise to take without a Bond of their own backing them up.

Mew began the expected battle without another word, gathering and unleashing a torrent of sparkling, violet-colored energy from their paws that caused Darkrai to cry out loud in agony after it hit them, Darkrai realizing with dawning horror that Mew had just used the power of the fae to deliver a devastating attack. Mew had apparently even gone to the trouble to have the fae instruct them in their ways to have a tool to keep 'mon of the darkness at bay. _Of course. Trying to cover their weaknesses._ Darkrai also swiftly came to the conclusion that the attack served a dual purpose: not only were those of the darkness at a disadvantage against the fae as part of the Great Balance, but the attack was _also_ filling the area with a bright, dazzling light that was almost entirely stripping away the shadows that Darkrai had been counting on in a pinch.

Darkrai quickly felt whatever hope they'd been holding onto fleeing from them as they tried to begin rebutting with an attack of their own, but their attempt at putting Mew to sleep so Darkrai could really open up with their abilities was shaken off before Darkrai was hit by another vicious Dazzling Gleam, the feeling of being slowly torn apart coursing through them with a searing pain as the booming blast echoed around the vicinity. This was, as Darkrai had been expecting, a _completely_ unequal, unwinnable clash without a Bond of their own to call on. Darkrai was now _absolutely certain_ that they were going to die as another wave of the shimmering fae energy cracked through the sky towards them, Mew wearing an expression of pure malevolence. _This 'meeting' has been a setup from the very beginning._ _Should have listened to Victini in the first place,_ was Darkrai's final pair of thoughts before they felt the third attack cascade through them and they became fully immersed in the darkness that they were so familiar with, falling to unconsciousness while Mew's enraged aura rapidly closed in.

Mew took their time, aimed and loosed a massively empowered Psybeam at Darkrai's prone form a few moments later, satisfied after the resounding boom of impact and the flying snow and smoke left in the wake of the attack cleared and revealed nothing but a jagged, round dirt hole ranging from a few inches to a few feet deep where Darkrai had been. They flew around slowly and scanned the area intently for several moments through the blizzard with their eyes and senses, making absolutely sure there were no unaccounted for movements in the few shadows there were or auras of other 'mon before stopping the power flow of their Bond and transforming back to normal, flying off satisfied that the _other_ major thorn in their side had been taken care of. Mew was already formulating a spin that was quickly becoming reality in their mind: _We met up and the Nightmarebringer refused to listen to reason and got very hostile and aggressive suddenly! I_ had _to defend myself. I'm sure they'll be back after they lick their wounds from our spar; they were probably really embarrassed about losing to a 'mon of the mind, after all._

* * *

Slight jangling echoed after power rippled through a damp stone cave thousands of miles away a few moments later, the unconscious and badly scorched Darkrai now in a rather unceremonious heap in the middle of the dimly lit cavern. A grey, mitten-like hand closed a round, glowing purple portal and grasped a large, golden ring that had been forming said portal after it returned to its normal size. " _Boy_ , do you ever owe Hoopa for that ringing, 'Rai! Close, _veryvery_ close!"

A smirk of victory crossed Hoopa's face as they studied Darkrai before opening another portal and summoning an entire Sitrus Berry tree, the tree toppling over due to no longer having soil supporting it and falling down with a loud, creaking crash mere inches from Darkrai's head after Hoopa helped guide the descent, Hoopa beginning a process of roughly squeezing the berries that were ripe all over Darkrai, the juice and pulp salving Darkrai's wounds and somewhat healing them. "Lucky for you Hoopa was watching, and Hoopa knows _just_ how 'Rai can pay Hoopa back after you wake up and get all better."


End file.
